Receivables



	November 30, 2012		August 31, 2012		November 30, 2011
	(Dollars in thousands)
Trade accounts receivable	$	2,634,587	$	2,817,817	$	2,028,765
CHS Capital notes receivable	682,910		606,514		572,757
Other	380,392		278,196		279,601
	3,697,889		3,702,527		2,881,123
Less allowances and reserves	116,419		111,785		121,364
	$	3,581,470	$	3,590,742	$	2,759,759

Trade accounts receivable are initially recorded at a selling price, which approximates fair value, upon the sale of goods or services to customers. The carrying value of CHS Capital notes receivable approximates fair value, given their short duration and the use of market pricing adjusted for risk.

CHS Capital, our wholly-owned subsidiary, has notes receivable from commercial borrowers and producer borrowings. The short-term notes receivable generally have terms of 12-14 months and are reported at their outstanding principle balances as CHS Capital has the ability and intent to hold these notes to maturity. The notes receivable from commercial borrowers are collateralized by various combinations of mortgages, personal property, accounts and notes receivable, inventories and assignments of certain regional cooperative’s capital stock. These loans are primarily originated in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. CHS Capital also has loans receivable from producer borrowers which are collateralized by various combinations of growing crops, livestock, inventories, accounts receivable, personal property and supplemental mortgages. In addition to the short-term amounts included in the table above, CHS Capital had long-term notes receivable with durations of not more than 10 years of $125.7 million, $164.8 million and $114.5 million at November 30, 2012, August 31, 2012 and November 30, 2011, respectively, which are included in other assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of November 30, 2012, August 31, 2012 and November 30, 2011 the commercial notes represented 80%, 74% and 86%, respectively, and the producer notes represented 20%, 26% and 14%, respectively, of the total CHS Capital notes receivable.

CHS Capital evaluates the collectability of both commercial and producer notes on a specific identification basis, based on the amount and quality of the collateral obtained, and records specific loan loss reserves when appropriate. A general reserve is also maintained based on historical loss experience and various qualitative factors. In total, our specific and general loan loss reserves related to CHS Capital are not material to our consolidated financial statements, nor are the historical write-offs. The accrual of interest income is discontinued at the time the loan is 90 days past due unless the credit is well-collateralized and in process of collection. The amount of CHS Capital notes that were past due was not significant at any reporting date presented.

CHS Capital has commitments to extend credit to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. As of November 30, 2012, CHS Capital's customers have additional available credit of $836.8 million.