The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

+ References+ Details

Total of all stockholders' equity (deficit) items, net of receivables from officers, directors, owners, and affiliates of the entity which is directly or indirectly attributable to that ownership interest in subsidiary equity which is not attributable to the parent (noncontrolling interest, minority interest).

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- Definition

The portion of net Income or Loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest (if any) deducted in order to derive the portion attributable to the parent.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 810

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1A

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6921930&loc=SL4573702-111684

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 810

-SubTopic 10

-Section 55

-Paragraph 4J

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6922042&loc=SL4591551-111686

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB)

-Number 51

-Paragraph 38

-Subparagraph a

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB)

-Number 51

-Paragraph 38

-Subparagraph c(1)

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB)

-Number 51

-Paragraph A1, A4, A5

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 810

-SubTopic 10

-Section 55

-Paragraph 4K

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6922042&loc=SL4591552-111686

+ Details

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Investment in Subsidiary or Unconsolidated Afflilate (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended								3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 Spigit	Dec. 31, 2010 Spigit	Dec. 31, 2009 Spigit	Dec. 31, 2011 Fish Springs Ranch, LLC	Sep. 30, 2011 Fish Springs Ranch, LLC	Sep. 30, 2011 Restatement Adjustment Reverse Loss Attributed to Noncontrolling Interest Fish Springs Ranch, LLC	Dec. 31, 2011 Agribusiness Operations	Dec. 31, 2011 Northstar
Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee [Line Items]
PICO's ownership percentage											88.00%
Percent ownership of voting shares of unconsolidated affiliate				30.00%	37.00%	50.00%					88.00%
Noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries	$ 7,850,000	$ 2,620,000					$ 0			$ 8,400,000
Ownership threshold to qualify for equity method accounting treatment, minimum	20.00%
Ownership threshold to qualify for equity method accounting treatment, maximum	50.00%
Ownership percentage by noncontrolling owners								49.00%		12.00%
Net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interests	$ (4,740,000)	$ 2,900,000	$ 3,724,000						$ (5,900,000)