Inventories

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2019

Inventories consisted of the following:


	October 31,
	2019		2018
	(In thousands)
Live poultry-broilers (net of reserve) and breeders	$	179,870	$	150,980
Feed, eggs and other	47,417		37,965
Processed poultry	35,121		30,973
Prepared chicken	20,032		13,591
Packaging materials	7,488		6,547
Total inventories	$	289,928	$	240,056

The increase in live inventories is attributable to an increase in the quantity of live birds in inventory at the Company's Tyler, Texas facility as it increased production during fiscal 2019, as well as the value at which the Company's live poultry inventories of broilers are recorded. In periods where the Company estimates that the cost to grow live birds in inventory to a marketable age and then process and distribute those birds will be lower in the aggregate than the anticipated sales proceeds, the Company values the broiler inventories on hand at cost and accumulates costs as the birds are grown to a marketable age subsequent to the balance sheet date. In periods where the Company estimates that the cost to grow live birds in inventory to a marketable age and then process and distribute those birds will be higher in the aggregate than the anticipated sales proceeds, the Company will make an adjustment to lower the value of live birds in inventory to the net realizable value. The significant judgments that management makes in order to assess the net realizable value of its broiler inventory include estimating future selling prices of finished products and the related cost of sales to complete. The Company recorded a charge of $2.8 million at October 31, 2019 and of $9.6 million at October 31, 2018 to reduce the values of live broiler inventories on hand at those dates from cost to net realizable value.

The increases in feed, eggs and other, processed poultry and packaging materials inventories are also attributable to an increase in the inventory volume at the Tyler, Texas facility.