Five Points, California, USA
January 6, 2015
S&W Seed Company (Nasdaq: SANW) announced today that alfalfa industry veteran, Kirk Rolfs, has been appointed as the Company's Vice President of Production. Mr. Rolfs will have overall responsibility for seed grower contracting, and management of the company's newly acquired seed processing facility in Nampa, Idaho, where he had overseen operations for DuPont Pioneer prior to the acquisition by S&W.
Mr. Rolfs began his career with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. at the alfalfa research station in Connell, WA. In 1988, he accepted an Agronomist position with Pioneer Hi-Bred in Fresno, CA managing non-dormant alfalfa seed production in the San Joaquin Valley region of California. In 1992, he was promoted to Senior Agronomist and over the following 10 years took on additional roles for the product line of Quality Supply Logistics, worldwide distribution planning, as well as Supply and Demand Planning. In 2013, Mr. Rolfs was promoted to Production Location Manager of the Nampa, ID production location.
While working for Pioneer Hi-Bred, Mr. Rolfs was a part of the team that harmonized ISO9000 documentation for the entire company. This team went on to win the Owen J. Newlin Business Excellence Award. In addition, he is a certified Six Sigma green belt, and certified LEAN practitioner. He has served on several industry organizations including the CA Alfalfa Seed Production Research Board in California for over 19 years, and the National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) for over 8 years. Mr. Rolfs received his B.S. degree in Agronomy from Colorado State University.
Mark Grewal, chief executive officer of S&W Seed Company, commented, "We are excited to welcome Kirk Rolfs as our Vice President of Production. I have known and worked with Kirk for more than two decades when I grew seed for him at my previous employment and have the utmost respect and confidence in his abilities. Kirk's knowledge of the alfalfa seed industry and relationships with seed growers across the United States and Canada will play a critical role as we look to further expand upon the base business that has been built over the last number of years. In addition to his experience within the dormant alfalfa seed market, Kirk's deep knowledge of non-dormant alfalfa seed production will prove valuable to us as we look to broaden our contracted seed production base to meet the growth plans that we have."
Kirk Rolfs, Vice President of Production of S&W Seed Company, commented, "I am excited to be joining the talented and passionate team at S&W. S&W is establishing itself as the premier alfalfa seed company with capabilities that stretch across the world. I look forward to working closely with the dedicated farmers across North America to expand the contracted grower base of the company's leading alfalfa seed varieties to meet the global demand for both the company's dormant and non-dormant varieties. This is an exciting time to be a part of the company and I look forward to the opportunities that are available before us."
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