S&W Seed Co. facilitates meeting with
sorghum industry representatives
LUBBOCK,
Texas, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sorghum
industry members – including representatives from National Sorghum
Producers (NSP), United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP),
Texas Tech University (TTU) –
Davis College and S&W Seed Company
(Nasdaq: SANW) – met Friday, Sept.
15, at the TTU Innovation Hub to discuss the state of the
U.S. sorghum industry and consider the need for technology. S&W
Seed facilitated the meeting to encourage collaboration among the
many organizations with a vested interest in sorghum.
"There are many enemies to food production – limited water,
higher temperatures, insects, being able to control weeds . . .
there are constantly things that are trying to attack every crop,"
said Mark Herrmann, S&W Seed Co.
CEO. "However, sorghum is a uniquely equipped crop as you can
produce grain with about 25 percent less water than corn. Today,
through S&W's commitment and investment in sorghum research,
there is an opportunity to bring technology to sorghum growers that
make it a more stable crop, enabling growers to manage additional
yield-robbing pressures."
Collaboration Key
"Collaboration among the groups
gathered is key," Herrmann continued. "Industry and universities
need to work with grower groups who understand the needs of
growers. This will help industry bring technology to the field
faster and more efficiently."
"Bringing new technology to our growers is no longer a pipe
dream," Herrmann expanded. "We launched Double Team™ Sorghum in
trials in 2021 and today we are on an estimated 6 percent of U.S.
sorghum acres. We are focusing on being on an estimated 10 percent
of U.S. sorghum acres in 2024."
Advocating for U.S. sorghum growers and creating demand for
sorghum in the U.S. and abroad has been a key focus for both NSP
and USCP. The two organizations work in tandem to advance the U.S.
sorghum industry while driving consumer awareness of the crop.
"Demand for sorghum is strong and diversifying," said
Tim Lust, NSP and USCP CEO.
"China continues to be an
aggressive buyer of sorghum and we have established markets in a
number of other countries while keeping our eye on traditional and
emerging market opportunities. As soon as we have a marketable
supply ready, the
crop has been moving into these markets very quickly. This also
includes our domestic ethanol program and other domestic markets
like feed, consumer food and pet food."
Sorghum Industry Trends
Looking at trends in the
sorghum industry, Lust noted that sorghum has always been labeled
THE sustainable crop, and the tagline The Resource
Conserving Crop™ was recently trademarked by USCP. However, the
current trend in sustainability is to have data backing up the
claims.
"The USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant is
one way we're collecting this information at the market level, but
this is not just a government-driven activity," Lust explained. "We
know that S&W and others are also collecting that data from
their growers. We know this is an activity that is being pushed by
stockholders and major corporations around the world. We also
believe that sorghum has a competitive advantage as collaboration
at the public, private and university levels is the fastest way to
get new technology into the farmers' fields."
Building Both Consumer AND Grower Demand
Collaboration
within the sorghum industry will be necessary for demand to be
built with both consumers and producers, explained Norma Ritz Johnson, USCP Executive Director.
"Sorghum is a very versatile crop with many end uses and we are
working to create demand and increase consumer awareness," she
said. "However, creating and demonstrating the value to the
producer to plant and grow a sorghum crop, and grow it
successfully, is part of the equation. We look at the industry as a
lot of different moving parts and it's a puzzle that has to have
the pieces fit together well. We believe that companies like
S&W and the technologies that are in development there as well
as advances in production are key to this puzzle."
As part of the effort to increase demand, USCP has introduced a
new website, www.sorghumsecret.com, that shows how sorghum is the
food industry's best-kept secret while exploring nutrition, recipes
and the sustainability of sorghum.
In addition to S&W, TTU, NSP and USCP, other organizations
in attendance included Vision Bioenergy Oilseeds, ucrop.it, The
Nature Conservancy and High Plains Journal. The meeting followed a
successful week of customer meetings by S&W Seed Co. during its
annual field tour at its Lubbock
research field. For more information on sorghum sustainability, go
to www.swseedco.com.
About S&W Seed Company
Founded in 1980,
S&W Seed Company is a global multi-crop, middle-market
agricultural company headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. S&W's vision is to be
the world's preferred proprietary seed company which supplies a
range of sorghum, 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 proprietary alfalfa
and sorghum seeds with significant research and development,
production and distribution capabilities. S&W also has a
commercial presence in pasture and sunflower seeds, and through a
partnership, is focused on sustainable biofuel feedstocks primarily
within camelina. 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
"anticipates," "believe," "expected," "may," "future," "plans,"
"should" or "will." Forward-looking statements in this release
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: expected
increases in our sorghum acre share in 2024; the outcome of
initiatives to increase sorghum demand and consumer awareness;
anticipated increases in the demand for sorghum; the outcome of our
sorghum research; and the likelihood and timing of the development
of sorghum technological advances. 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 risks and uncertainties related to: the effects of
unexpected weather and geopolitical and macroeconomic events, such
as global inflation, bank failures, supply chain disruptions,
uncertain market conditions, the armed conflict in Sudan, and the ongoing military conflict
between Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions, on our business
and operations; our proprietary seed trait technology products,
including Double Team™, may not yield their anticipated benefits,
including with respect to their impact on revenues and gross
margins; demand for our Double Team™ sorghum solution may not be as
strong as expected; our business strategic initiatives may not
achieve the expected results; and previously experienced logistical
challenges in shipping and transportation of our products may
become amplified. 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, 2023 and in other
filings subsequently made by us 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 and are
based on management's assumptions and estimates as of such date. 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.
Media Contact:
Cheri Johnson
920-348-3292
cj@aspenhallmarcomllc.com
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SOURCE S&W Seed Company