S&W Seed Company ships its first alfalfa seed order to North Sudan

S&W Seed Company announced it is shipping its first commercial scale alfalfa seed order destined for the new country of North Sudan. The sale is for a selection of S&W's proprietary non-dormant, salt tolerant, seed alfalfa varieties that have been carefully chosen with a view to growing conditions in North Sudan. The Company is keenly interested in North and South Sudan because of their role in the Company's strategic plan to expand its reach throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Mark Grewal, president and chief executive officer of S&W Seed, commented, "S&W's proprietary alfalfa seed varieties are ideally suited to the climates and soil types in the Middle East and Africa. We have taken the initiative to educate farmers in the region about our high yielding alfalfa seed varieties and how they can give farmers increased returns. With a significant portion of seed utilized in the region of a lower yielding, generic variety, we expect that the superior attributes of our alfalfa seed will be welcomed by the farming community in the region. We believe that educating farmers about our varieties will translate into expanded market share in the coming years."

In field trials conducted by the University of California-Davis and the University of Arizona, S&W Seed varieties SW 9720 and SW 9215 have consistently demonstrated superior yields of high quality hay grown in a wide array of harsh farming conditions. SW 9720 has earned distinction as the number one high-yielding alfalfa variety with salt tolerance in university trials, and led all entries in both yield and feed quality in a trial conducted at the USDA Salinity Laboratory where alfalfa and other forage species were under salt water irrigation management. Similarly, SW 9215 has tested among the highest yielding salt-tolerant alfalfas certified to date.

Mr. Grewal concluded, "This first commercial shipment to North Sudan follows on the heels of our first shipment to the nation of Kuwait. We are making progress in opening new markets because we combine leading-edge products with the expertise needed to take full advantage of S&W's resources."