BUSINESS SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC REPORTING

12 Months Ended

Dec. 30, 2012

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block]

22. BUSINESS SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC REPORTING

     We operate in one reportable business segment, as a producer and seller of chicken products we either produce or purchase for resale in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico. We conduct separate operations in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico; however, for geographic reporting purposes, we include Puerto Rico with our U.S. operations. Corporate expenses are allocated to Mexico based upon various apportionment methods for specific expenditures incurred related thereto with the remaining amounts allocated to the U.S.

     During 2011, we announced organizational changes that resulted in the merger of our former Other Products segment into our Chicken segment. Data related to our former Other Products segment, which included primarily non-chicken products sold through our distribution centers, table eggs, animal feed and offal, is no longer reported directly to the chief operating decision maker. This information is now reported through chicken operations management. We reclassified prior year segment disclosures to conform to the new segment presentation.

     Net sales to customers by customer location and long-lived assets are as follows:

	2012		2011		2010
	(In thousands)
Net sales to customers by customer location:
United States	$	6,600,206	$	6,108,797	$	5,740,563
Mexico		988,712		827,186		669,870
Asia		262,455		353,368		223,240
North America		111,305		88,900		82,026
Europe		79,101		82,261		130,635
Africa		62,642		56,741		23,363
South America		13,775		14,224		8,252
Pacific		3,186		4,221		3,680
Total	$	8,121,382	$	7,535,698	$	6,881,629

	December 30, 2012		December 25, 2011
	(In thousands)
Long-lived assets(a):
United States	$	1,106,482	$	1,157,410
Mexico		83,439		84,342
Total	$	1,189,921	$	1,241,752

(a) For this disclosure, we exclude financial instruments, deferred tax assets and intangible assets in accordance with ASC 280-10-50-41, Segment Reporting. Long-lived assets, as used in ASC 280-10-50-41, implies hard assets that cannot be readily removed.

     The following table sets forth, for the periods beginning with 2010, net sales attributable to each of our primary product lines and markets served with those products. We based the table on our internal sales reports and their classification of product types.

	2012		2011		2010
U.S. chicken:	(In thousands)
Prepared chicken	$	2,239,289	$	2,135,337	$	2,262,107
Fresh chicken		3,583,854		3,160,429		2,834,972
Export and other chicken by-products		817,723		808,038		581,303
Total U.S. chicken		6,640,866		6,103,804		5,678,382
Mexico chicken		758,023		720,333		615,433
Total chicken		7,398,889		6,824,137		6,293,815
Other products:
U.S.		608,619		674,923		558,675
Mexico		113,874		36,638		29,139
Total other products		722,493		711,561		587,814
Total net sales	$	8,121,382	$	7,535,698	$	6,881,629