Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents includes bank deposits as well as short-term, highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

Revenue [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition

For ethanol and by-products segment sales, the Company recognizes sales of ethanol, distillers grains and non-food grade corn oil when obligations under the terms of the respective contracts with customers are satisfied; this occurs with the transfer of control of products, generally upon shipment from the ethanol plant or upon loading of the rail car used to transport the products. For refined coal segment sales, the Company recognizes sales of refined coal when obligations under the term of the contract with its customer are satisfied; this occurs when title and control of the product transfers to its customer, generally upon the coal leaving the refined coal plant. Refined coal sales are recorded net of the cost of coal as the Company purchases the coal feedstock from the customer to which the processed refined coal is sold.

Cost of Goods and Service [Policy Text Block]

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales includes depreciation, costs of raw materials, inbound freight charges, purchasing and receiving costs, inspection costs, other distribution expenses, warehousing costs, plant management, certain compensations costs and general facility overhead charges.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

The Company includes non-production related costs such as professional fees, selling charges and certain payroll in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Financial Instruments

Certain of the forward grain purchase and ethanol, distillers grains and non-food grade corn oil sale contracts are accounted for under the “normal purchases and normal sales” scope exemption of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”) because these arrangements are for purchases of grain that will be delivered in quantities expected to be used by the Company and sales of ethanol, distillers grains and non-food grade corn oil quantities expected to be produced by the Company over a reasonable period of time in the normal course of business.

The Company uses derivative financial instruments (exchange-traded futures contracts) to manage a portion of the risk associated with changes in commodity prices, primarily related to corn. The Company monitors and manages this exposure as part of its overall risk management policy. As such, the Company seeks to reduce the potentially adverse effects that the volatility of these markets may have on its operating results. The Company may take hedging positions in these commodities as one way to mitigate risk. While the Company attempts to link its hedging activities to purchase and sales activities, there are situations in which these hedging activities can themselves result in losses. The Company does not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. The changes in fair value of these derivative financial instruments are recognized in current period earnings as the Company does not use hedge accounting.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income Taxes

Historically, the Company recorded its interim tax provision or benefit for income taxes including the three months ended April 30, 2018, by applying an estimate of the annual effective tax rate for the full fiscal year to “ordinary” income or loss (pre-tax income or loss excluding unusual or infrequently occurring discrete items) for the reporting period. The Company determined that since small changes in estimated “ordinary” income would result in significant changes in the estimated annual effective tax rate, the historical method would not provide a reliable estimate for the three months ended April 30, 2019. Thus, the Company used a discrete effective tax rate method to calculate the provision or benefit for income taxes for the three months ended April 30, 2019.

The Company provides for deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The Company provides for a valuation allowance if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company paid no income taxes nor received refunds of income taxes during the three months ended April 30, 2019 and 2018.

As of April 30, 2019 and January 31, 2019, total unrecognized tax benefits were approximately $8.9 million and approximately $8.8 million, respectively. Accrued penalties and interest were approximately $0.5 million and approximately $0.4 million at April 30, 2019 and January 31, 2019, respectively. If the Company were to prevail on all unrecognized tax benefits recorded, the provision for income taxes would be reduced by approximately $8.4 million. In addition, the impact of penalties and interest would also benefit the effective tax rate. Interest and penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits are recorded within income tax expense. On a quarterly basis, the Company accrues for the effects of open uncertain tax positions and the related potential penalties and interest.

Inventory, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Inventories

Inventories are carried at the lower of cost or market on a first-in, first-out basis. Inventory includes direct production costs and certain overhead costs such as depreciation, property taxes and utilities associated with producing ethanol and related by-products and refined coal. Inventory is permanently written down for instances when cost exceeds estimated net realizable value; such write-downs are based primarily upon commodity prices as the market value of inventory is often dependent upon changes in commodity prices. At April 30, 2019, there was a permanent write-down of inventory of approximately $0.2 million. There was no significant permanent write-down of inventory at January 31, 2019. Fluctuations in the write-down of inventory generally relate to the levels and composition of such inventory at a given point in time. The components of inventory are as follows as of the dates presented (amounts in thousands):

	April 30, 2019		January 31, 2019
Ethanol and other finished goods	$	7,770	$	5,767
Work in process		2,922		3,094
Grain and other raw materials		9,458		9,616
Total	$	20,150	$	18,477

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is recorded at cost or the fair value on the date of acquisition (for property and equipment acquired in a business combination). Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method. Estimated useful lives are 5 to 40 years for buildings and improvements, and 2 to 20 years for fixtures and equipment.

In accordance with ASC 360-10 “Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets”, the carrying value of long-lived assets is assessed for recoverability by management when changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. There were no impairment charges in the first quarter of fiscal years 2019 or 2018.

The Company tests for recoverability of an asset group by comparing its carrying amount to its estimated undiscounted future cash flows. If the carrying amount exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, the Company recognizes an impairment charge for the amount by which the asset group’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, if any.

Investment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Investments

The method of accounting applied to long-term investments, whether consolidated, equity or cost, involves an evaluation of the significant terms of each investment that explicitly grant or suggest evidence of control or influence over the operations of the investee and also includes the identification of any variable interests in which the Company is the primary beneficiary. The Company accounts for investments in a limited liability company in which it has a less than 20% ownership interest using the equity method of accounting when the factors discussed in ASC 323, “Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures” are met. The excess of the carrying value over the underlying equity in the net assets of equity method investees is allocated to specific assets and liabilities. Investments in businesses that the Company does not control but for which it has the ability to exercise significant influence over operating and financial matters are accounted for using the equity method. The Company accounts for its investment in Big River Resources, LLC (“Big River”) using the equity method of accounting and includes the results on a delayed basis of one month as Big River has a fiscal year end of December 31.

The Company periodically evaluates its investments for impairment due to declines in market value considered to be other than temporary. Such impairment evaluations include general economic and company-specific evaluations. If the Company determines that a decline in market value is other than temporary, then a charge to earnings is recorded in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations and a new cost basis in the investment is established.

Short-term investments are considered held to maturity, and, therefore are carried at amortized historical cost.

Comprehensive Income, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Comprehensive Income

The Company has no components of other comprehensive income, and therefore, comprehensive income equals net income.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Accounting Changes and Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Effective February 1, 2019, the Company adopted the amended guidance in Accounting Standards Codification “ASC” Topic 842 “Leases” and all related amendments (“ASC 842”), which requires that virtually all leases to be recognized by lessees on their balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability. The adoption of ASC 842 had a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets as total assets and total liabilities increased by approximately $20.9 million upon adoption. The adoption of ASC 842 did not have an impact on the Company’s Consolidated Condensed Statement of Operations for the three months ended April 30, 2019. See Note 4 for a further discussion of the Company’s adoption of this amended guidance.

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-13. “Changes to Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurements”, which improves the effectiveness of recurring and non-recurring fair value measurements disclosures. This standard removes, modifies and adds certain disclosure requirements and is effective for the Company beginning February 1, 2020. The Company has not determined the effect of this standard on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.