Inventories

12 Months Ended

Dec. 03, 2011

Inventories

Inventories

6. Inventories

        Inventories consist of:

	Dec. 3, 2011		Nov. 27, 2010
Nursery stock	$	12,739	$	14,347
Materials and supplies		956		1,181
	$	13,695	$	15,528

        In fiscal 2011, a charge of $1,187 is included in costs of landscape nursery sales and is comprised of the following: (a) $517 to reserve for plants with disease issues, mostly for boxwood plants that became unsaleable in the 2011 fourth quarter after being infected with boxwood blight, a fungal disease; (b) $370 to increase inventory reserves for plants that became unsaleable or will be sold below cost as seconds; and (c) $300 for plants lost due to the collapse, from snow load during the 2011 first quarter, of some of Imperial's hoop houses in which the plants were stored.

        In fiscal 2010, a charge of $1,000 is included in costs of landscape nursery sales for plant losses that resulted from changes in plant fertilization methods made in fiscal 2010. Those changes were made to improve plant quality and reduce growing costs. However, the extremely hot and dry weather during the 2010 summer combined with the additional fertilizer applied to the inventory negatively affected certain plant varieties, particularly rhododendron and certain other broadleaf evergreens.

        Although all inventories are classified as a current asset based upon industry practice, approximately $6.9 million of the inventory at December 3, 2011 is not currently expected to be sold within twelve months of the balance sheet date.