14. Restructuring and Impairment Charges

A summary of restructuring and impairment charges is as follows:

Owned property, plant and equipment:

		2002			2001			2000
Restructuring charges (reversals)	$	13,173		$	(4,067	)	$	9,700
Impairment charges		18,239			7,800			44,526
Total restructuring and   impairment charges	$	31,412		$	3,733		$	54,226

In 2002, the Company recorded restructuring and impairment charges of $31.4 million. In the Dairy Foods segment, the Company recorded a $19.6 million restructuring and impairment charge in 2002, of which $15.2 million was related primarily to the write-down of impaired plant assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, and $4.4 million was related to employee severance and outplacement costs for 374 employees at various locations. In the Animal Feed segment, the Company recorded an $11.8 million restructuring and impairment charge, of which $3.1 million was primarily related to the write-down of impaired plant assets held for sale to their estimated fair value, and $8.7 million was related to employee severance and outplacement costs for 375 employees at various locations. The balance remaining to be paid at December 31, 2002 for employee severance and outplacement costs was $10.5 million.

In 2001, the Company recorded restructuring and impairment charges of $3.7 million. Dairy Foods recorded a restructuring charge of $1.7 million, which had not been paid at December 31, 2001, for severance costs for 63 production employees resulting from the consolidation of production facilities. Feed reversed $5.7 million of a prior-year restructuring charge primarily due to a change in business strategy following the Purina Mills acquisition, which resulted in the decision to continue to operate plants that were held for sale at December 31, 2000. An impairment charge of $6.0 million related to the Company's feed operation in Mexico held for sale at December 31, 2001, was recorded in order to value the business at its expected selling price less costs of disposal. Swine recorded an impairment charge of $1.8 million to reduce undeveloped land with permit issues to its estimated fair value.

In 2000, the Company recorded restructuring and impairment charges of $54.2 million. The restructuring charge of $9.7 million resulted from initiatives within Land O'Lakes Farmland Feed LLC to consolidate facilities and reduce personnel. Of the $9.7 million, $7.2 million related to the closing and planned sale of 12 plants and consisted of $5.5 million to write down assets held for sale to their estimated fair value and $1.7 million for demolition expenses and incidental exit costs. The remaining $2.5 million represented severance and outplacement costs for 119 non-plant employees. The impairment charge of $44.5 million resulted from a reduction in the carrying amounts of certain impaired assets to their estimated fair value, determined on the basis of third-party appraisals or estimated cash flows. The impairment was related to cheese marketing and production assets that were significantly underutilized due to changes in consumer product preferences and costs associated with sourcing raw materials.