Wickersham to Retire as S&W Chairman

FIVE POINTS, Calif., Dec. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed Company SANW today announced that Grover Wickersham has informed the Company that he intends to retire as Chairman of the Board of S&W Seed Company prior to the end of 2014.

Mr. Wickersham founded S&W in its current form in 2008 after the purchase of the S&W Seed partnership that had operated in California since 1981 as a breeder and marketer of high quality, non-dormant alfalfa seed. Recognizing the potential appeal of S&W's unique seed varieties, Mr. Wickersham converted S&W into a corporation and recruited key executives into leadership positions at the company, including Mark Grewal as chief executive officer and Dan Karsten and Matthew Szot as Vice Presidents. He also recruited Dr. Clint Shock, a preeminent expert on the stevia plant, to launch S&W's stevia breeding program in 2009.  Mr. Wickersham was the architect of the company's IPO in May of 2010, which was successfully led by Mr. Grewal and Mr. Szot, the company's chief financial officer. He was instrumental in the acquisitions of Imperial Valley Seeds in 2012 and Seed Genetics International in 2013, and assists in international sales. During his tenure as Chairman, revenues increased more than tenfold as S&W became the world's leading supplier of non-dormant alfalfa seed varieties and a global agricultural company with operations in the United States and Australia with distribution in more than 20 countries around the world.

Mr. Wickersham said, "I have been honored to be Chairman of this organization for many years and am proud of what has been achieved under the leadership of the management and my board colleagues.  Looking forward to 2015 and beyond, I am confident that S&W has significant opportunities to expand upon what has been built and the initiatives that have been put in place both in the company's alfalfa and stevia operations as they meet the challenges of global demographics and the demands placed on world food supplies."

When his successor as Chairman is selected, which is expected to occur soon, Mr. Wickersham will continue to serve S&W as a Director and as a valued advisor.

About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global agricultural company, headquartered in the Central Valley of California. The company is the largest producer of non-dormant alfalfa seed varieties in the world, with production operations in the San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys of California, as well as in South Australia. The company has worldwide sales and distribution through both a direct sales force as well as dealer-distributors.  The company's proprietary varieties are designed to meet the shifting needs of farmers that require high performance in poor and highly saline soil conditions and have been verified over decades of university-sponsored trials.  Additionally, the company is utilizing its research and breeding expertise to develop and produce U.S.-based stevia leaf.  Stevia is an all-natural, zero calorie sweetener for the food and beverage industry. For more information, please visit www.swseedco.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and other risks identified in the Company's 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, and other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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SOURCE S&W Seed Company