S&w Seed Company Appoints Veteran AG Sales Executive as New Regional Sales Manager

FIVE POINTS, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- S&W Seed Company (NasdaqCM: SANW) today announced that veteran agriculture sales executive Gary Leach has joined S&W as Regional Sales Manager.  Reporting directly to CEO Mark Grewal, Leach will help to design and implement S&W's domestic sales and marketing strategy, focusing on the major alfalfa farming regions of California, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona.  

"Gary's track record in sales, his industry relationships and his 15-years of experience in building multi-channel sales networks make him invaluable to our campaign to increase S&W's share of the non-dormant alfalfa market, stated Grewal.  "Not only does he know how to market our proprietary brands of salt tolerant alfalfa to the right potential customers, Gary has the producer contacts needed to help S&W increase utilization of our modern equipment for cleaning and processing alfalfa, wheat, barley and other grains."

Prior to joining S&W, Leach served as Regional Sales Manager of Producers Choice Seed, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cal/West Seeds, where over his five year tenure he oversaw the Company's dealer and sales force network serving five western U.S. states and Mexico.  From 1998 through 2005, he was the Western Sales Representative for MBS/PGI Seed, a company owned by Seminis/Monsanto, where he was responsible for building the Company's sales force and reintroducing PGI alfalfas to farmers in four western U.S. states and Mexico.  Leach began his career in 1990 at Novartis Seeds, Inc. as Field Sales Manager of the Western Region, where he routinely won recognition for his quota-busting sales performance and managerial skill sets.  He is an active member of several leading AG industry associations, including the National Grass and Forage Association, CAFA, New Mexico Seed Association and Arizona Seed Association; and earned a BS degree from the University of Northern Colorado.

Commenting on his appointment, Leach said, "As a competitor, I greatly respected S&W's reputation for breeding some of the industry's best 4-10 dormancies ranges for high yielding alfalfa varieties.  I am very excited to now be onboard the S&W team and look forward to playing a meaningful role in the Company's future success."

About S&W Seed Company

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in the Central Valley of California, S&W Seed Company is a global leader in warm climate, high yield alfalfa seed varieties, including varieties that can thrive in poor, saline soils, as verified over decades of university-sponsored trials.  S&W also offers seed cleaning and processing at its 40-acre facility in Five Points, California.  In fiscal 2010, the Company launched a business expansion initiative centered on mass producing stevia leaf in the U.S. in response to growing global demand for the all-natural, zero calorie sweetener from 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 prospectus, dated May 3, 2010, and other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE S&W Seed Company