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Inventories

9 Months Ended

Aug. 27, 2011

Inventories

4. Inventories

Inventories consist of:

					August 27, 2011			November 27, 2010
	Nursery stock				$	13,944		$	14,347
	Materials and supplies				886			1,181
					$	14,830		$	15,528

In the 2011 nine month period, a charge of $700 is included in costs of landscape nursery sales for excess plant losses and to increase inventory reserves for plants that became unsaleable or will be sold below cost as seconds. The charge reflects $300 for plants lost due to the collapse, from snow load during this past winter, of some of Imperial’s hoop houses in which the plants were stored, $300 to reserve for unsaleable inventories and plants expected to be sold below cost as seconds and $100 for plant losses due to disease issues.

In the 2010 nine month period, a charge of $1,000 is included in cost 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.

The entire disclosure for inventory. This may include, but is not limited to, the basis of stating inventory, the method of determining inventory cost, the major classes of inventory, and the nature of the cost elements included in inventory. If inventory is stated above cost, accrued net losses on firm purchase commitments for inventory and losses resulting from valuing inventory at the lower-of-cost-or-market may also be included. For LIFO inventory, may disclose the amount and basis for determining the excess of replacement or current cost over stated LIFO value and the effects of a LIFO quantities liquidation that impacts net income.

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