S&W'S Board of Directors Nominates Consuelo Madere for Election

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW), an innovative global agricultural company focused on alfalfa, sorghum, sunflower and stevia, today announced the nomination of 30-year Monsanto executive and current member of the Board of Directors of PotashCorp, Consuelo E. Madere, for election to its Board of Directors at its fiscal 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Ms. Madere served in a number of key leadership positions at Monsanto Company, a global provider of agricultural solutions, from 1982 to April 2013, including President of the vegetable seeds division from 2008 to 2009, General Manager of the Europe/Africa division from 2005 to 2008, President of the dairy business from 2003 to 2005 and, most recently, as an executive officer of global vegetables and Asia commercial businesses. Ms. Madere currently serves as president and founder of Proven Leader Advisory LLC, a management consulting and executive coaching firm, since March 2014. Since May 2014, she has served on the board of directors of PotashCorp, a publicly traded fertilizer company listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Ms. Madere received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa. Since November 2013, Ms. Madere has served on the Dean's Advisory Council of the Louisiana State University Honors College. She is a member of the Latin Corporate Directors Association as well as the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. Ms. Madere is also certified by the National Association of Corporate Directors as a Governance Fellow. 

Mark Harvey, Chairman of S&W's Board of Directors, commented, "S&W Seed Company's Board of Directors is very pleased to nominate a seasoned agricultural executive with experience across a diverse product and geographic set such as Consuelo Madere for election to S&W Seed Company's Board of Directors at its fiscal 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Ms. Madere was a member of the 11-person Monsanto Executive Team responsible for development and implementation of overall company strategy as well as management of day to day business operations. She recently led the global vegetable seed business and overall company business in Asia which encompassed 5,000 employees and approximately $1.5 billion in sales. If elected to S&W Seed Company's Board of Directors, we anticipate benefitting from Ms. Madere's strategic and operational experience as we advance the strategic plan of S&W going forward."

Ms. Madere commented, "It's an exciting time for agriculture with the intersection of new technologies that can provide better tools for developing innovative new products that growers need and consumers want at a faster pace than has ever been anticipated.  I look forward to working with the team at S&W to help fulfill their mission of developing proprietary seed to supply forage, grain and specialty crop products to meet the growing population needs for animal proteins and healthier consumer diets."

About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global agricultural company, headquartered in the San Joaquin Valley of California. S&W'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. S&W 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. S&W sells its seed products in more than 30 countries around the globe.  S&W 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." Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the potential election of Ms. Madere to S&W Seed Company's Board of Directors, the anticipated benefits of Ms. Madere's strategic and operational experience and the advancement of S&W Seed Company's strategic plans. 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.  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 fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, 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.  S&W Seed Company does 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.

Proxy Statement
On November 30, 2017 S&W Seed Company filed a proxy statement relating to, among other things, the election of its directors, including Ms. Madere, for its fiscal 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The proxy statement contains important information about S&W Seed Company and its director nominees. Stockholders are urged to read the proxy statement carefully. Stockholders and other interested persons are able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov and through S&W Seed Company's website at www.swseedco.com/investors. S&W Seed Company, its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the fiscal 2018 annual meeting of stockholders.  

SOURCE S&W Seed Company

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