Sum of the carrying values as of the balance sheet date of all debt, including all short-term borrowings, long-term debt, and capital lease obligations.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

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Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Description of the maturity date of the debt instrument including whether the debt matures serially and, if so, a brief description of the serial maturities.

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Amount of long-term debt and capital lease obligation due after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Amount of long-term debt and capital leases due within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Weighted average interest rate of long-term debt outstanding.

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CREDIT ARRANGEMENTS (Long-term Debt, Including the Deferred Gain from the Termination of the Interest Rate Swaps) (Details) - USD ($)	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 29, 2016	Aug. 31, 2014	Aug. 31, 2015	May. 31, 2013	Aug. 31, 2008	Jul. 31, 2007
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities	$ 1,082,677,000		$ 1,287,992,000
Current maturities of long-term debt	10,845,000		10,110,000
Long-term debt	1,071,832,000		1,277,882,000
$400 million notes at 6.50% due July 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount	$ 400,000,000		$ 400,000,000			$ 400,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage	6.50%		6.50%			6.50%
Debt instrument, maturity date	July 2017	July 2017
Weighted average interest rate	5.74%
Total long-term debt including current maturities	$ 304,087,000		$ 405,573,000
$500 million notes at 7.35% due August 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount	$ 500,000,000		$ 500,000,000		$ 500,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage	7.35%		7.35%		7.35%
Debt instrument, maturity date	August 2018	August 2018
Weighted average interest rate	6.40%
Total long-term debt including current maturities	$ 411,186,000		$ 513,680,000
$330 million notes at 4.875% due May 2023
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount	$ 330,000,000		$ 330,000,000	$ 330,000,000
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage	4.875%		4.875%	4.875%
Debt instrument, maturity date	May 15, 2023	May 15, 2023
Weighted average interest rate	4.875%
Total long-term debt including current maturities	$ 330,000,000		$ 330,000,000
Other, including equipment notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt including current maturities	$ 37,404,000		$ 38,739,000