NOTE 2: ACQUISITIONS

In May 2011, the minority partner in our 60%-owned Shandong Tyson Xinchang Foods joint ventures in China exercised put options requiring us to purchase its entire 40% equity interest. The transaction is pending Chinese government approval and is expected to close in late fiscal 2011 or early fiscal 2012 for cash consideration totaling $65 million. As a result of the put option exercises, we have recorded this obligation as a component of Other current liabilities at July 2, 2011. At October 2, 2010, the minority partner's interest was recorded as Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest.

NOTE 3: OTHER INCOME AND CHARGES

During the first nine months of fiscal 2011, we recorded an $11 million gain related to a sale of interests in an equity method investment. This gain was recorded in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income in Other, net.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2010, we recognized $38 million of insurance proceeds received related to losses incurred from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. These proceeds are reflected in the Chicken segment's Operating Income and included in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income in Cost of Sales.

During the third quarter of fiscal 2010, we recorded a $12 million impairment charge related to an equity method investment. This charge is included in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income in Other, net.

NOTE 4: DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Our business operations give rise to certain market risk exposures mostly due to changes in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. We manage a portion of these risks through the use of derivative financial instruments, primarily futures and options, to reduce our exposure to commodity price risk, foreign currency risk and interest rate risk. Forward contracts on various commodities, including grains, livestock and energy, are primarily entered into to manage the price risk associated with forecasted purchases of these inputs used in our production processes. Foreign exchange forward contracts are entered into to manage the fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, primarily as a result of certain receivable and payable balances. We also periodically utilize interest rate swaps to manage interest rate risk associated with our variable-rate borrowings.

Our risk management programs are periodically reviewed by our Board of Directors' Audit Committee. These programs are monitored by senior management and may be revised as market conditions dictate. Our current risk management programs utilize industry-standard models that take into account the implicit cost of hedging. Risks associated with our market risks and those created by derivative instruments and the fair values are strictly monitored at all times, using Value-at-Risk and stress tests. Credit risks associated with our derivative contracts are not significant as we minimize counterparty concentrations, utilize margin accounts or letters of credit, and deal with credit-worthy counterparties. Additionally, our derivative contracts are mostly short-term in duration and we generally do not make use of credit-risk-related contingent features. No significant concentrations of credit risk existed at July 2, 2011.

We recognize all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets, with the exception of normal purchases and normal sales expected to result in physical delivery. The accounting for changes in the fair value (i.e., gains or losses) of a derivative instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as part of a hedging relationship and the type of hedging relationship. For those derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as hedging instruments, we designate the hedging instrument based upon the exposure being hedged (i.e., fair value hedge, cash flow hedge, or hedge of a net investment in a foreign operation). We qualify, or designate, a derivative financial instrument as a hedge when contract terms closely mirror those of the hedged item, providing a high degree of risk reduction and correlation. If a derivative instrument is accounted for as a hedge, depending on the nature of the hedge, changes in the fair value of the instrument either will be offset against the change in fair value of the hedged assets, liabilities or firm commitments through earnings, or be recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) (OCI) until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. The ineffective portion of an instrument's change in fair value is recognized in earnings immediately. We designate certain forward contracts as follows:

Cash flow hedges

Derivative instruments, such as futures and options, are designated as hedges against changes in the amount of future cash flows related to procurement of certain commodities utilized in our production processes. We do not purchase forward and option commodity contracts in excess of our physical consumption requirements and generally do not hedge forecasted transactions beyond 18 months. The objective of these hedges is to reduce the variability of cash flows associated with the forecasted purchase of those commodities. For the derivative instruments we designate and qualify as a cash flow hedge, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative is reported as a component of OCI and reclassified into earnings in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. Gains and losses representing hedge ineffectiveness are recognized in earnings in the current period. Ineffectiveness related to our cash flow hedges was not significant for the three and nine months ended July 2, 2011, and July 3, 2010.

We had the following aggregated notionals of outstanding forward and option contracts accounted for as cash flow hedges:

The net amount of pretax losses in accumulated OCI as of July 2, 2011, expected to be reclassified into earnings within the next 12 months, was $18 million. During the three and nine months ended July 2, 2011, and July 3, 2010, we did not reclassify significant pretax gains/losses into earnings as a result of the discontinuance of cash flow hedges due to the probability the original forecasted transaction would not occur by the end of the originally specified time period or within the additional period of time allowed by generally accepted accounting principles.

The following table sets forth the pretax impact of cash flow hedge derivative instruments on the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income (in millions):

Fair value hedges

We designate certain futures contracts as fair value hedges of firm commitments to purchase livestock for slaughter. Our objective of these hedges is to minimize the risk of changes in fair value created by fluctuations in commodity prices associated with fixed price livestock firm commitments. We had the following aggregated notionals of outstanding forward contracts entered into to hedge forecasted commodity purchases which are accounted for as a fair value hedge:

For these derivative instruments we designate and qualify as a fair value hedge, the gain or loss on the derivative, as well as the offsetting gain or loss on the hedged item attributable to the hedged risk, are recognized in earnings in the same period. We include the gain or loss on the hedged items (i.e., livestock purchase firm commitments) in the same line item, Cost of Sales, as the offsetting gain or loss on the related livestock forward position.

Ineffectiveness related to our fair value hedges was not significant for the three and nine months ended July 2, 2011, and July 3, 2010.

Foreign net investment hedges

We utilize forward foreign exchange contracts to protect the value of our net investments in certain foreign subsidiaries. For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as a hedge of a net investment in a foreign currency, the gain or loss is reported in OCI as part of the cumulative translation adjustment to the extent it is effective, with the related amounts due to or from counterparties included in other liabilities or other assets. We utilize the forward-rate method of assessing hedge effectiveness. Any ineffective portions of net investment hedges are recognized in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income during the period of change. Ineffectiveness related to our foreign net investment hedges was not significant for the three and nine months ended July 2, 2011, and July 3, 2010. At July 2, 2011, and October 2, 2010, we had $35 million and $49 million aggregate outstanding notionals related to our forward foreign currency contracts accounted for as foreign net investment hedges.

The following table sets forth the pretax impact of these derivative instruments on the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income (in millions):

Undesignated positions

In addition to our designated positions, we also hold forward and option contracts for which we do not apply hedge accounting. These include certain derivative instruments related to commodities price risk, including grains, livestock and energy, foreign currency risk and interest rate risk. We mark these positions to fair value through earnings at each reporting date. We generally do not enter into undesignated positions beyond 18 months.

The objective of our undesignated grains, energy and livestock commodity positions is to reduce the variability of cash flows associated with the forecasted purchase of certain grains, energy and livestock inputs to our production processes. We also enter into certain forward sales of boxed beef and boxed pork and forward purchases of cattle and hogs at fixed prices. The fixed price sales contracts lock in the proceeds from a sale in the future and the fixed cattle and hog purchases lock in the cost. However, the cost of the livestock and the related boxed beef and boxed pork market prices at the time of the sale or purchase could vary from this fixed price. As we enter into fixed forward sales of boxed beef and boxed pork and forward purchases of cattle and hogs, we also enter into the appropriate number of livestock futures positions to mitigate a portion of this risk. Changes in market value of the open livestock futures positions are marked to market and reported in earnings at each reporting date, even though the economic impact of our fixed prices being above or below the market price is only realized at the time of sale or purchase. These positions generally do not qualify for hedge treatment due to location basis differences between the commodity exchanges and the actual locations when we purchase the commodities.

We have a foreign currency cash flow hedging program to hedge portions of forecasted transactions denominated in foreign currencies, primarily with forward contracts, to protect against the reduction in value of forecasted foreign currency cash flows. Our undesignated foreign currency positions generally would qualify for cash flow hedge accounting. However, to reduce earnings volatility, we normally will not elect hedge accounting treatment when the position provides an offset to the underlying related transaction that currently impacts earnings.

The objective of our undesignated interest rate swap is to manage interest rate risk exposure on a floating-rate bond. Our interest rate swap agreement effectively modifies our exposure to interest rate risk by converting a portion of the floating-rate bond to a fixed rate basis for the first five years, thus reducing the impact of the interest-rate changes on future interest expense. This interest rate swap does not qualify for hedge treatment due to differences in the underlying bond and swap contract interest-rate indices.

We had the following aggregate outstanding notionals related to our undesignated positions:

The following table sets forth the pretax impact of the undesignated derivative instruments on the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income (in millions):

The following table sets forth the fair value of all derivative instruments outstanding in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets (in millions):

Our derivative assets and liabilities are presented in our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets on a net basis. We net derivative assets and liabilities, including cash collateral when a legally enforceable master netting arrangement exists between the counterparty to a derivative contract and us. See Note 10: Fair Value Measurements for a reconciliation to amounts reported in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets in Other current assets and Other current liabilities.

NOTE 5: INVENTORIES

Processed products, livestock and supplies and other are valued at the lower of cost or market. Cost includes purchased raw materials, live purchase costs, growout costs (primarily feed, contract grower pay and catch and haul costs), labor and manufacturing and production overhead, which are related to the purchase and production of inventories. Total inventory consists of the following (in millions):

NOTE 6: PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

The major categories of property, plant and equipment and accumulated depreciation are as follows (in millions):

NOTE 7: OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

Other current liabilities are as follows (in millions):

NOTE 8: COMMITMENTS

We guarantee obligations of certain outside third parties, which consists of a lease and grower loans, all of which are substantially collateralized by the underlying assets. Terms of the underlying debt cover periods up to ten years, and the maximum potential amount of future payments as of July 2, 2011, was $78 million. We also maintain operating leases for various types of equipment, some of which contain residual value guarantees for the market value of the underlying leased assets at the end of the term of the lease. The remaining terms of the lease maturities cover periods over the next six years. The maximum potential amount of the residual value guarantees is $43 million, of which $41 million would be recoverable through various recourse provisions and an additional undeterminable recoverable amount based on the fair value of the underlying leased assets. The likelihood of material payments under these guarantees is not considered probable. At July 2, 2011, and October 2, 2010, no material liabilities for guarantees were recorded.

We have cash flow assistance programs in which certain livestock suppliers participate. Under these programs, we pay an amount for livestock equivalent to a standard cost to grow such livestock during periods of low market sales prices. The amounts of such payments that are in excess of the market sales price are recorded as receivables and accrue interest. Participating suppliers are obligated to repay these receivables balances when market sales prices exceed this standard cost, or upon termination of the agreement. Our maximum obligation associated with these programs is limited to the fair value of each participating livestock supplier's net tangible assets. The potential maximum obligation as of July 2, 2011, was approximately $215 million. The total receivables under these programs were $38 million and $51 million at July 2, 2011, and October 2, 2010, respectively, and are included, net of allowance for uncollectible amounts, in Other Assets in our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets. Even though these programs are limited to the net tangible assets of the participating livestock suppliers, we also manage a portion of our credit risk associated with these programs by obtaining security interests in livestock suppliers' assets and personal guarantees. After analyzing residual credit risks and general market conditions, we have recorded an allowance for these programs' estimated uncollectible receivables of $13 million and $15 million at July 2, 2011, and October 2, 2010, respectively.

NOTE 9: DEBT

The major components of debt are as follows (in millions):

Revolving Credit Facility

In February 2011, we amended and extended our $1.0 billion revolving credit facility that supports short-term funding needs and letters of credit. The facility will mature and the commitments thereunder will terminate in February 2016, provided that (a) at any time during the six-month period ending November 29, 2013, we have corporate credit ratings not lower than BBB- and Baa3 from Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's Investor Services, Inc. (Moody's), respectively, in each case with stable outlook or better, (b) on or prior to November 29, 2013, we have refinanced, purchased, or defeased the 2014 Notes, or (c) we have irrevocably deposited cash in an amount not less than the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding 2014 Notes on or prior to November 29, 2013, in a blocked cash collateral account. In the event none of the foregoing events have occurred, the loans made under this facility will mature and the commitments thereunder will terminate on November 29, 2013. As of July 2, 2011, none of the foregoing events have occurred.

After reducing the amount available by outstanding letters of credit issued under this facility, the amount available for borrowing under this facility at July 2, 2011, was $840 million. At July 2, 2011, we had outstanding letters of credit issued under this facility totaling $160 million, none of which were drawn upon. Our letters of credit are issued primarily in support of workers' compensation insurance programs, derivative activities and Dynamic Fuels' Gulf Opportunity Zone tax-exempt bonds. We had an additional $57 million of bilateral letters of credit not issued under this facility, none of which were drawn upon.

This facility is fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior secured basis by substantially all of our domestic subsidiaries. The guarantors' cash, accounts receivable, inventory and proceeds received related to these items secure our obligations under this facility. However, if at any time on or after August 23, 2011, our corporate credit rating is at least BBB- or Baa3, in each case with stable outlook or better, from S&P or Moody's, respectively, and at least BB or Ba2, in each case with stable outlook or better, from the other rating agency, then at our request, the lenders will release the liens securing this facility.

2013 Notes

In September 2008, we issued $458 million principal amount 3.25% convertible senior unsecured notes due October 15, 2013, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears on April 15 and October 15. The conversion rate initially is 59.1935 shares of Class A stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of $16.89 per share of Class A stock. The 2013 Notes may be converted before the close of business on July 12, 2013, only under the following circumstances:

On and after July 15, 2013, until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert their notes at any time, regardless of the foregoing circumstances. Upon conversion, we will deliver cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the 2013 Notes to be converted and shares of our Class A stock in respect of the remainder, if any, of our conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the 2013 Notes being converted. As of July 2, 2011, none of the conditions permitting conversion of the 2013 Notes had been satisfied.

The 2013 Notes were originally accounted for as a combined instrument because the conversion feature did not meet the requirements to be accounted for separately as a derivative financial instrument. However, we adopted new accounting guidance in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 and applied it retrospectively to all periods presented. This new accounting guidance required us to separately account for the liability and equity conversion features. Upon retrospective adoption, our effective interest rate on the 2013 Notes was determined to be 8.26%, which resulted in the recognition of a $92 million discount to these notes with the offsetting after tax amount of $56 million recorded to capital in excess of par value. This discount will be accreted over the five-year term of the convertible notes at the effective interest rate.

In connection with the issuance of the 2013 Notes, we entered into separate convertible note hedge transactions with respect to our Class A stock to minimize the potential economic dilution upon conversion of the 2013 Notes. We also entered into separate warrant transactions. We recorded the purchase of the note hedge transactions as a reduction to capital in excess of par value, net of $36 million pertaining to the related deferred tax asset, and we recorded the proceeds of the warrant transactions as an increase to capital in excess of par value. Subsequent changes in fair value of these instruments are not recognized in the financial statements as long as the instruments continue to meet the criteria for equity classification.

We purchased call options in private transactions for $94 million that permit us to acquire up to approximately 27 million shares of our Class A stock at an initial strike price of $16.89 per share, subject to adjustment. The call options allow us to acquire a number of shares of our Class A stock initially equal to the number of shares of Class A stock issuable to the holders of the 2013 Notes upon conversion. These call options will terminate upon the maturity of the 2013 Notes.

We sold warrants in private transactions for total proceeds of $44 million. The warrants permit the purchasers to acquire up to approximately 27 million shares of our Class A stock at an initial exercise price of $22.31 per share, subject to adjustment. The warrants are exercisable on various dates from January 2014 through March 2014.

The maximum amount of shares that may be issued to satisfy the conversion of the 2013 Notes is limited to 35.9 million shares. However, the convertible note hedge and warrant transactions, in effect, increase the initial conversion price of the 2013 Notes from $16.89 per share to $22.31 per share, thus reducing the potential future economic dilution associated with conversion of the 2013 Notes. If our share price is below $22.31 upon conversion of the 2013 Notes, there is no economic net share impact. Upon conversion, a 10% increase in our share price above the $22.31 conversion price would result in the issuance of 2.5 million incremental shares. The 2013 Notes and the warrants could have a dilutive effect on our earnings per share to the extent the price of our Class A stock during a given measurement period exceeds the respective exercise prices of those instruments. The call options are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share as their impact is anti-dilutive.

2016 Notes

On August 19, 2010, S&P upgraded the credit rating of these notes from "BB" to "BB+." On September 2, 2010, Moody's upgraded our credit rating from "Ba3" to "Ba2." These upgrades decreased the interest rate on the 2016 Notes from 7.85% to 7.35%, effective beginning with the six-month interest payment due October 1, 2010.

On February 24, 2011, S&P upgraded the credit rating of these notes from "BB+" to "BBB-." On March 29, 2011, Moody's upgraded our credit rating from "Ba2" to "Ba1". These upgrades decreased the interest rate on the 2016 Notes from 7.35% to 6.85%, effective beginning with the six-month interest payment due April 1, 2011.

GO Zone Tax-Exempt Bonds

In October 2008, Dynamic Fuels received $100 million in proceeds from the sale of Gulf Opportunity Zone tax-exempt bonds made available by the federal government to the regions affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. These floating rate bonds are due October 1, 2033. In November 2008, we entered into an interest rate swap related to these bonds to mitigate our interest rate risk on a portion of the bonds for five years. We also issued a letter of credit as a guarantee for the entire bond issuance.

Debt Covenants

Our revolving credit facility contains affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, may limit or restrict our ability to: create liens and encumbrances; incur debt; merge, dissolve, liquidate or consolidate; make acquisitions and investments; dispose of or transfer assets; pay dividends or make other payments in respect of our capital stock; amend material documents; change the nature of our business; make certain payments of debt; engage in certain transactions with affiliates; and enter into sale/leaseback or hedging transactions, in each case, subject to certain qualifications and exceptions. In addition, we are required to maintain minimum interest expense coverage and maximum leverage ratios.

Our 2014 Notes also contain affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, may limit or restrict our ability to: incur additional debt and issue preferred stock; make certain investments and restricted payments; create liens; create restrictions on distributions from subsidiaries; engage in specified sales of assets and subsidiary stock; enter into transactions with affiliates; enter new lines of business; engage in consolidation, mergers and acquisitions; and engage in certain sale/leaseback transactions.

We were in compliance with all debt covenants at July 2, 2011.

NOTE 10: FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy contains three levels as follows:

Level 1 — Unadjusted quoted prices available in active markets for the identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date.

Level 2 — Other observable inputs available at the measurement date, other than quoted prices included in Level 1, either directly or indirectly, including:

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that cannot be corroborated by observable market data and reflect the use of significant management judgment. These values are generally determined using pricing models for which the assumptions utilize management's estimates of market participant assumptions.

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

The fair value hierarchy requires the use of observable market data when available. In instances where the inputs used to measure fair value fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the fair value measurement has been determined based on the lowest level input significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Our assessment of the significance of a particular item to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, including the consideration of inputs specific to the asset or liability. The following tables set forth by level within the fair value hierarchy our financial assets and liabilities accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis according to the valuation techniques we used to determine their fair values (in millions):

The following table provides a reconciliation between the beginning and ending balance of debt securities measured at fair value on a recurring basis in the table above that used significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) (in millions):

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instrument:

Derivative Assets and Liabilities: Our derivatives, including commodities, foreign exchange forward contracts and an interest rate swap, primarily include exchange-traded and over-the-counter contracts which are further described in Note 4: Derivative Financial Instruments. We record our commodity derivatives at fair value using quoted market prices adjusted for credit and non-performance risk and internal models that use as their basis readily observable market inputs including current and forward commodity market prices. Our foreign exchange forward contracts are recorded at fair value based on quoted prices and spot and forward currency prices adjusted for credit and non-performance risk. Our interest rate swap is recorded at fair value based on quoted LIBOR swap rates adjusted for credit and non-performance risk. We classify these instruments in Level 2 when quoted market prices can be corroborated utilizing observable current and forward commodity market prices on active exchanges, observable market transactions of spot currency rates and forward currency prices or observable benchmark market rates at commonly quoted intervals.

Available for Sale Securities: Our investments in marketable debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are included in Other Assets in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets. These investments, which are generally long-term in nature with maturities ranging up to 45 years, are reported at fair value based on pricing models and quoted market prices adjusted for credit and non-performance risk. We classify our investments in U.S. government and agency debt securities as Level 2 as fair value is generally estimated using discounted cash flow models that are primarily industry-standard models that consider various assumptions, including time value and yield curve as well as other readily available relevant economic measures. We classify certain corporate, asset-backed and other debt securities as Level 3 as there is limited activity or less observable inputs into proprietary valuation models, including estimated prepayment, default and recovery rates on the underlying portfolio or structured investment vehicle.

Additionally, we have eight million shares of Syntroleum Corporation common stock and 4.25 million warrants, which expire in early fiscal 2013, to purchase an equivalent amount of Syntroleum Corporation common stock at an average price of $2.87. We record the shares and warrants in Other Assets in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets at fair value based on quoted market prices. We classify the shares as Level 1 as the fair value is based on unadjusted quoted prices available in active markets. We classify the warrants as Level 2 as fair value can be corroborated based on observable market data.