S&W to acquire 114 acres in California

S&W Seed Company announced that it will acquire an additional 114 acres of producing farmland in Calipatria, California, located in the Imperial Valley. The purchase is being made to further expand production of S&W's proprietary alfalfa seed varieties and to effect synergies at its Imperial Valley farming operations, which were launched in 2012. The newly acquired farmland will be placed into S&W's proprietary alfalfa seed production commencing with the 2013-2014 season.

Mark Grewal, chief executive officer of S&W Seed Company, commented, "We continue to stay focused on expanding production, while keeping our gross margin expansion initiative sharply in focus. The addition of farmland in Imperial Valley is one component to reach our goals by leveraging our existing contracted farming team that is stationed in the valley. The incremental acreage base should provide for net incremental margin improvement into the future."

Mr. Grewal continued, "There are a number of opportunities that we are looking at that have the potential to significantly increase our seed production capabilities going forward. This purchase is a modest step in our efforts to expand seed production and sourcing beyond the 9 to 10 million pounds annually that we have recently outlined. Given the very strong demand for our varieties, we look forward to becoming the 'go-to' provider for alfalfa farmers for years to come."

The purchase price of the 114 acres of land and associated water rights is approximately $0.83 million and is expected to close in March 2013.