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Commitments and Contingencies
 3 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]
Commitments and Contingencies

Unconditional Purchase Obligations

Long-term unconditional purchase obligations primarily relate to pipeline and grain handling take-or-pay and through-put agreements, and are not recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Minimum future payments required under long-term unconditional purchase obligations as of November 30, 2013 are as follows:
 
Payments Due by Period
 
Total
 
Less than
1 Year
 
1 - 3
Years
 
3 - 5
Years
 
More than
5 Years
 
(Dollars in thousands)
Long-term unconditional purchase obligations
$
530,640

 
$
57,412

 
$
142,737

 
$
88,933

 
$
241,558


The discounted, aggregate amount of the minimum required payments under long-term unconditional purchase obligations, based on current exchange rates at November 30, 2013, is $454.5 million.

Guarantees

We are a guarantor for lines of credit and performance obligations of related companies. As of November 30, 2013, our bank covenants allowed maximum guarantees of $1.0 billion, of which $97.4 million was outstanding. We have collateral for a portion of these contingent obligations. We have not recorded a liability related to the contingent obligations as we do not expect to pay out any cash related to them, and the fair values are considered immaterial. The underlying loans to the counterparties for which we provide guarantees are current as of November 30, 2013.

Contingencies

In May 2013, we initiated a voluntary recall of certain soy protein products produced at our Ashdod, Israel facility following one customer's report to us of a positive test result for salmonella in product purchased from us. We notified applicable food safety regulators, including the Israel Ministry of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, of both the positive test result and our determination to conduct a voluntary recall. We have received no reports of salmonella-related illness in relation to the recalled products. We estimate our range of loss associated with this recall to be between $14.4 million and $39.7 million. During the year ended August 31, 2013, we recorded a reserve of $25.0 million, which is the amount within the range that we believe is the best estimate given the claims experience so far. We maintain product liability and general liability insurance (which includes product liability coverage), which we believe will offset some related product liability expenses. However, as of November 30, 2013, no insurance recoveries have been recorded related to this incident.