PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

12 Months Ended

Dec. 30, 2012

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block]

10. PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

     Property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”), net consisted of the following:

	December 30, 2012			December 25, 2011
	(In thousands)
Land	$	63,788		$	65,413
Buildings		1,081,059			1,077,789
Machinery and equipment		1,498,280			1,492,251
Autos and trucks		58,526			58,518
Construction-in-progress		47,927			36,094
Property, plant and equipment, gross		2,749,580			2,730,065
Accumulated depreciation		(1,559,659	)		(1,488,313	)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	1,189,921		$	1,241,752

     The Company recognized depreciation expense of $131.5 million, $192.6 million and $209.4 million during 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

     During 2012, the Company sold certain PP&E for cash of $29.4 million and recognized a loss of $5.3 million. PP&E sold in 2012 included a commercial egg operation in Texas, a vacant office building in Texas, an idled processing plant and broiler farm in Georgia, an idled feed mill in Arkansas, idled hatcheries in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia, an idled distribution center in Louisiana, various broiler and breeder farms in Texas, both developed and undeveloped land in Texas and miscellaneous processing equipment. During 2011, the Company sold certain PP&E for cash of $29.0 million and recognized a gain of $4.3 million. PP&E sold in 2011 included a processing plant in North Carolina, a rendering plant in Georgia, an egg production facility in Texas, a feed mill in Georgia, a hatchery in Alabama, various broiler, breeder and pullet farms in Texas, an empty office building in West Virginia, rental properties in Texas, developed and undeveloped real estate in Texas and miscellaneous processing equipment.

     As part of the exit or disposal activities discussed in “Note 3. Exit or Disposal Activities,” the Company closed or idled (i) processing facilities in Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas, (ii) a feed mill in North Carolina and Arkansas, (iii) hatcheries in Alabama, Texas, Arkansas and North Carolina, (iv) various broiler farms in Texas and (v) a vehicle maintenance center in Arkansas. Neither the Board of Directors nor JBS USA has determined if it would be in the best interest of the Company to divest any of these idled assets. Management is therefore not certain that it can or will divest any of these assets within one year, is not actively marketing these assets and, accordingly, has not classified them as assets held for sale. The Company continues to depreciate these assets. At December 30, 2012, the carrying amount of these idled assets was $60.4 million based on depreciable value of $152.7 million and accumulated depreciation of $92.3 million.

     Management has committed to the sale of certain properties and related assets, including, but not limited to (i) processing plants in Louisiana and Pennsylvania, (ii) an administrative office building in Georgia, (iii) a warehouse in Texas and (iv) a vehicle maintenance center in Texas, as such assets no longer fit into the operating plans of the Company. The Company is actively marketing these properties and related assets for immediate sale and believes a sale of each property can be consummated within the next 12 months. At December 30, 2012, the Company reported assets held for sale totaling $27.0 million in Assets held for sale on its Consolidated Balance Sheets. In 2012, the Company recognized administrative restructuring charges totaling $2.8 million to impair the carrying amounts of certain assets held for sale to fair value.

     The Company tested the recoverability of its long-lived assets held for use during the thirteen weeks ended December 30, 2012 by comparing the book value of its invested capital, exclusive of assets held for sale, with the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of its long-lived assets held for use. The Company determined that the carrying amount of its long-lived assets held for use is recoverable over the remaining life of the primary asset in the group, and the long-lived assets for use pass the Step 1 recoverability test of ASC 360-10-35, Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.