S&W Seed Company Expands Management Team and Realigns Focus on Geographic Territories Following Recent Acquisition

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW) is pleased to announce the appointment of Don Panter as Executive Vice President, Americas and promotion of David Callachor to Executive Vice President, International. The expansion and reorganization follows S&W's recent acquisition of key sorghum assets that now positions S&W as a leading middle-market agricultural company with leadership positions in multiple key crops.

Panter will oversee operations including sales and marketing, research and development and supply chain for the integrated alfalfa, sorghum, sunflower, and stevia operations within the Americas. Panter has more than 20 years' experience as an agribusiness executive, with time spent in both start-up and turn-around business situations and expertise in such areas as product/project development, global business, strategic planning and technology evaluation. Panter has held senior leadership positions at several seed and biotechnology companies including Stoneville Pedigreed Seed, Emergent Genetics, Harris Moran Seed Company and Mendel BioEnergy Seeds.  Most recently, Panter was President and CEO of American DairyCo, a private equity-held, U.S.-based commercial dairy company consisting of about 10,000 dairy cows and agricultural operations across 5,000 acres in Florida and Georgia. Panter holds a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Callachor joined S&W in January 2018 to expand the Company's hybrid focus and will now oversee all international operations, including sales and marketing, production and research and development. Callachor is a senior agribusiness executive with over 20 years of experience in the agriculture industry, including extensive international experience in hybrid seeds, traits and new technologies. Callachor has worked with several global seed companies including Advanta Seeds and, most recently, Limagrain as Group Sales Manager for South East Asia. He also has worked with Landmark, an Agrium Company, for several years in Australia.

Mark Wong, CEO of S&W Seed Company, commented, "Our recent sorghum acquisition transforms S&W into a multi-crop agricultural company, allowing us to sell multiple crops to the same end customers. To recognize these benefits, we felt it was important to reorganize our operations along geographic lines, instead of functional lines, to help realize the numerous cross-selling synergies available to us. Don Panter is a highly successful agricultural executive whom I have worked with in the past and have great respect for his ability to execute on the task ahead. David Callachor likewise has a strong background in developing integrated, multi-crop strategies in numerous parts of the world. This is an exciting time for S&W and I look forward to the contributions I know Don and David will bring."

About S&W Seed Company

Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global agricultural company. The Company's vision is to be the world's preferred proprietary seed Company which supplies a range of forage and specialty crop products that supports the growing global demand for animal proteins and healthier consumer diets. The Company is a global leader in alfalfa seed, with significant research and development, production and distribution capabilities. S&W's capabilities span the world's alfalfa seed production regions, with operations in the Western United States, including the San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys of California, Australia, and Canada, and S&W sells its seed products in more than 30 countries around the globe.  The Company also provides hybrid sorghum and sunflower and is utilizing its research and breeding expertise to develop and produce stevia, the 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 risk that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and risks associated with our ability to successfully commercialize, optimize and commercialize our business.  These and other risks are identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2018, and in our other filings subsequently made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.

SOURCE S&W Seed Company

Related Links

http://www.swseedco.com