"In itself this is a significant. and important event in the history of the AgriBioTech," said Dr. Tom Rice, Vice President and Director of Research, "because it gives the Company a clear path to practice transformation on all forage and turfgrass species and to commercialize the results." Rice added, "More importantly, together with all the other biotechnology agreements and tools the Company has acquired in the last five months, it means that ABT now has a complete platform for biotechnology development and has in place all the elements needed to begin to execute our strategy to use new technologies to add value to the forage and turfgrass seed sector."

The agreements and tools that the Company has acquired in the past 5 months include establishment of an ABT molecular biology and transformation laboratory at the University of Rhode Island, the hiring of prominent scientists, and previously announced agreements with The Noble Foundation, Global Agro, Inc., FFR Cooperative, and Mycogen Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Companv (NYSE: DOW) that give ABT exclusive access to seven or more genes for use in turfgrass and or forage crops.

ABT believes that biotechnology-enhanced forage and turfgrass seeds with important new traits can create and add significant value to its target seed sector. Management estimates, for example, that the commercialization of a single biotechnology-derived value-added trait to important forage and a turfgrass species could potentially double the market value of its seed sector. Significant increases in market value have already occurred in other seed sectors like corn, soybean and cotton as a result of the commercialization of biotechnology-enhanced seeds with value-added traits.

Rice concluded his comments by noting that "We now have a lab, initial scientific staff, genes, leading gernplasm and breeding programs, and agreements providing freedom to operate. We are excited about the prospect of using all these assets to use biotechnology to benefit the farmers and turfgrass seed users in our sector so that they have the same kind of new profit-making opportunities as do users of other seeds."