January 17, 2003

Agway Inc. announced today that Donald P. Cardarelli will resign as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Agway Inc. effective April 1, 2003. The Company also announced that Michael R. Hopsicker, a 13-year company veteran, has been named Chief Operating Officer effective immediately and will succeed Mr. Cardarelli upon his resignation.

"This was a decision that the Board and I reached after assessing our progress to date and our needs going forward," said Mr. Cardarelli, who has been CEO since 1995. "By April we expect to have completed all of the major restructuring initiatives we announced early last year, including the very important step of selling our lease financing business. Agway will then be a more focused and smaller organization. The next phase is to develop the plan for the Company's emergence from Chapter 11. That plan should be developed and carried out under leadership that is expected to be part of Agway's future."

Agway Board Chairman Gary Van Slyke said that naming Mike Hopsicker to succeed Cardarelli was a unanimous decision of the Agway Board. "Mike Hopsicker has exhibited tremendous leadership capabilities and brings considerable experience as well as a successful business track record at Agway to this position. We are confident that Mike is the right person to lead us through the reorganization process and beyond," said Van Slyke. 

Mr. Hopsicker said, "I appreciate the confidence the Agway Board has placed in me and I welcome this opportunity. Agway's greatest strength is in its many skilled and dedicated employees. I strongly believe that our employees have the ability and determination to take the next steps that will build value for all of Agway's stakeholders."

Mr. Hopsicker most recently served as Executive Vice President of Agriculture and Energy and President of Agway Energy Products. He joined Agway as a financial analyst in 1989. Over the years, Mr. Hopsicker took on a number of key assignments that have drawn on his expertise and talents in the areas of financial management, strategic planning, business restructuring and business development. Most recently, Mr. Hopsicker led the successful effort to sell the Company's Agronomy and Seedway businesses. Since 1996, Mr. Hopsicker has provided overall leadership to the Agway Energy Products team, which has taken this business to a level where profits are consistently earned each year. In addition to his new role, Mr. Hopsicker will remain President of Agway Energy Products.

"We are grateful to Don Cardarelli for his nearly 19 years of service to Agway and we are pleased that he has agreed to remain available to the Board and management team to facilitate the transition in leadership," said Van Slyke. "Don is a very capable and respected leader who inherited a difficult financial situation and led the cooperative during difficult times. Unfortunately, the convergence of several events last year, including the unexpected failed sale of one of our businesses, resulted in Chapter 11 being the only option for Agway's many stakeholders. Don had the foresight to prepare the Company for Chapter 11 while continuing to pursue needed restructuring initiatives. Those initiatives have already generated $100 million in cash, which has allowed the Company to reduce its current secured lender borrowings to zero and have a cash surplus available."

Agway Inc., headquartered in DeWitt, NY, is an agricultural cooperative owned by 69,000 Northeast
farmer-members. On October 1, 2002, Agway Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Agway Energy Products LLC, Agway Energy Services, Inc., Agway Energy Services-PA, Inc. and Telmark LLC were not included in the Chapter 11 filings.