Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

Note 1. Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, these statements do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending June 30, 2012.  For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2011.

Principles of Consolidation

On September 30, 2011, the Company finalized the sale of the majority ownership interest of Hickory Point Bank and Trust Company, fsb (Bank), a previously wholly-owned subsidiary.  As a result, the accounts of the Bank were deconsolidated with no material effect to after-tax earnings for the quarter and six months ended December 31, 2011.  The Company accounts for its remaining ownership interest in the Bank under the equity method.

The Company consolidates certain less than wholly-owned subsidiaries for which the minority interest was subject to a put option and considered mandatorily redeemable.  The put option expired on December 31, 2011 and as a result, the Company reclassified $172 million of minority interest from other long-term liabilities to noncontrolling interests in shareholders' equity at that date.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Effective July 1, 2011, the Company adopted the second phase of the amended guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, which requires the Company to disclose information in the reconciliation of recurring Level 3 measurements about purchases, sales, issuances and settlements on a gross basis, separate for assets and liabilities.  The adoption of this amended guidance requires expanded disclosure in the notes to the Company's consolidated financial statements but does not impact financial results (See Note 4 for the disclosures required by this guidance).

Reclassifications

Other (income) expense – net in prior year's consolidated statement of earnings has been reclassified to conform to the current year's presentation with corresponding changes to certain prior year items in Notes 5 and 12.  In addition, receivables and accounts payable in the prior year consolidated balance sheet have been reclassified to conform to the current year's presentation where trade receivables and trade payables are shown separately from other receivables and other payables, respectively.  Other receivables and other payables are now included in other current assets and accrued expenses and other payables, respectively.  These changes are also reflected in the prior year consolidated statement of cash flows with no impact to total cash provided by (used in) operating, investing, or financing activities.

Last-in, First-out (LIFO) Inventories

Interim period LIFO calculations are based on interim period costs and management's estimates of year-end inventory levels.  Because the availability and price of agricultural commodity-based LIFO inventories are unpredictable due to factors such as weather, government farm programs and policies, and changes in global demand, quantities of LIFO-based inventories at interim periods may vary significantly from management's estimates of year-end inventory levels.