Land O'Lakes, Inc., owner of Seed Research of Oregon (SRO) and the Pickseed Companies Group (Pickseed) are pleased to announce the sale of SRO to Pickseed.

Land O'Lakes has also purchased Seeds Ohio, a regional seed distributor based in West Jefferson, Ohio owned by Pickseed.  The transactions closed December 31, 2004.

SRO will operate as an independent business unit of the Pickseed Companies Group in its existing Corvallis, OR facility, under the direction of the current management team. SRO will continue its broad initiatives in research, technical support, quality assurance and superior customer service, including the ongoing supply of turf and forage grass seed to Land O'Lakes.

Robert Clark, president and chief operating officer for Pickseed said;" Pickseed is excited about expanding its long-term strategic alliance with Land O'Lakes. The acquisition of Seed Research of Oregon represents significant market share expansion for Pickseed within U.S. and international markets".

Dave Seehusen, vice-president, Seed Division for Land O'Lakes commented;" Seed Research will become a core asset with Pickseed Companies Group and a key supplier of competitive turf grass products to Land O'Lakes, Seed Solutions and CROPLAN GENETICS marketing programs".

The Pickseed Companies Group is a leader in development, production and distribution of turfgrass and forage seed crops. The Group is comprised of Pickseed Canada Inc., with locations at Lindsay, ON (head office), St. Hyacinthe, QC, Winnipeg, MB, Sherwood Park (Edmonton) and Abbotsford, BC, Dawson Creek, BC, and Pickseed West Inc and Turf-One, located at Tangent and Corvallis, OR. The Group has been operating since 1947 and is privately held.

Land O'Lakes, Inc is a national farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales in excess of $6 billion. It does business in all 50 states and more than 50 countries, and provides agricultural training and technical assistance in more than 30 developing nations.