December 6, 2018

To our stockholders:

We are pleased to invite you to attend the annual meeting of stockholders of S&W Seed Company, to be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront, located at 1800 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, California 94010.

Details regarding the business to be conducted are described in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the Proxy Statement.

Your vote is very important. Whether or not you attend the annual meeting we hope you will vote promptly. There are three ways that you can cast your ballot - by telephone, by Internet or by mailing the proxy card (if you request one). Please review the instructions included in the Proxy Statement.

Thank you for your ongoing support and continued interest in S&W Seed Company. We look forward to seeing you at the annual meeting.

To the Stockholders of S&W Seed Company:

The annual meeting of stockholders (the "Annual Meeting") of S&W Seed Company, a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), will be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. local time at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront, located at 1800 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, California 94010, for the following purposes:

These items of business are more fully described in the Proxy Statement accompanying this Notice.

Any action on the items of business described above may be considered at the time and on the date specified above or at any other time and date to which the Annual Meeting may be property adjourned or postponed.

The record date for the Annual Meeting is November 26, 2018. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on that date may vote at the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

By Order of the Board of Directors

Sacramento, California
December 6, 2018

S&W SEED COMPANY

The enclosed proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors (the "Board") of S&W Seed Company, a Nevada corporation (the "Company," "S&W," "we" or "our"), for use in voting at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "Annual Meeting") to be held at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront, located at 1800 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, California 94010, on January 16, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. and at any adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof, for the purposes set forth in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING

We have prepared these materials for our annual meeting of stockholders (the "Annual Meeting") to be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. S&W is soliciting proxies for use at the Annual Meeting, including any postponements or adjournments.

The Annual Meeting will be held at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront, located at 1800 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, California 94010. You are invited to attend the Annual Meeting and requested to vote on the proposals described in this Proxy Statement (the "Proxy Statement").

• The Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the "Notice");
• This Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting; and
• S&W's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2018, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September 20, 2018 (the "Annual Report").

If you requested printed versions by mail, these proxy materials also include the proxy card or voting instruction form for the Annual Meeting.

S&W has elected to use the Internet as the primary means of furnishing proxy materials to stockholders. Accordingly, we have sent the Notice to our stockholders pursuant to which the Board is soliciting your proxy to vote at the Annual Meeting, including any adjournments or postponements thereof. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the Internet or request a printed copy of the materials can be found in the Notice.

Stockholders may follow the instructions in the Notice to elect to receive future proxy materials in print by mail or electronically by email. We encourage stockholders to take advantage of the availability of the proxy materials on the Internet to help reduce the environmental impact of our annual meetings and reduce the cost to S&W associated with the printing and mailing of materials.

S&W's proxy materials are also available at www.swseedco.com/investors/annual-meeting-and-proxy/. This website address is included for reference only. The information contained on S&W's website is not incorporated by reference into this Proxy Statement.

We intend to mail the Notice on or about December 6, 2018 to all stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

We may send you a proxy card, along with a second Notice, on or after December 17, 2018.

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What items will be voted on at the Annual Meeting?

There are four items scheduled for a vote at the Annual Meeting:

• The election to the Board of the eight nominees named in this Proxy Statement (Proposal No. 1);
• Approval of the S&W Seed Company 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the "2019 Plan") (Proposal No. 2);
• Ratification of the selection of Crowe LLP as S&W's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 (Proposal No. 3); and
• Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of the Company's named executive officers, as disclosed in the Proxy Statement (Proposal No. 4).

Other than the proposals referred to in this Proxy Statement, S&W knows of no other matters to be submitted to the stockholders for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters properly come before the stockholders at the Annual Meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote upon such matters in accordance with their best judgment.

• "FOR" election of each of the nominees named in this Proxy Statement to the Board (Proposal No. 1);
• "FOR" approval of the 2019 Plan (Proposal No. 2);
• "FOR" ratification of the selection of Crowe LLP as S&W's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 (Proposal No. 3); and
• "FOR" approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of the Company's named executive officers, as disclosed in the Proxy Statement (Proposal No. 4).

Any action on the items of business described above may be considered at the Annual Meeting at the time and on the date specified above or at any time and date to which the Annual Meeting may be properly adjourned or postponed. Under Nevada law, we are not required to give any notice of an adjourned meeting or of the business to be transacted at an adjourned meeting, other than by announcement at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken, unless the Board fixes a new record date for the adjourned meeting or the meeting date is adjourned to a date more than 60 days later than the date set for the original meeting, in which case a new record date must be fixed and notice given.

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Are any of S&W's officers and directors interested in matters to be acted upon?

Our officers and directors are eligible to participate in our 2019 Plan, along with other employees and consultants. Other than their eligibility to potentially receive future grants or awards under the 2019 Plan, the nominees' interest in the election of directors and the potential impact of the advisory vote on executive compensation, our officers and directors do not have any interest in the matters to be acted upon at the Annual Meeting.

Only stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 26, 2018 (the "Record Date") are entitled to receive notice of, to attend, and to vote at the Annual Meeting. In addition to the stockholders of record of S&W's common stock, beneficial owners of shares held in street name as of the Record Date can vote using the methods described below. Each share of S&W's common stock is entitled to one vote on each matter. As of November 26, 2018, there were 33,240,102 shares issued, of which 33,215,102 were outstanding.

• Stockholder of Record. If your shares are registered directly in your name with S&W's transfer agent, Transfer Online, Inc. ("Transfer Online"), you are the stockholder of record with respect to those shares, and the Notice was sent directly to you by S&W.
• Beneficial Owner of Shares Held in Street Name. If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer, or other similar organization, then you are the "beneficial owner" of shares held in "street name," and a Notice was forwarded to you by that organization. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to instruct your broker, bank, trustee, or nominee how to vote your shares.

If you are a stockholder of record, there are four ways to vote:

• In person. You may vote in person at the Annual Meeting by requesting a ballot when you arrive. You must bring valid photo identification such as a driver's license or passport and may be requested to provide proof of stock ownership as of the Record Date. In order for your vote to be counted, you must hand your completed ballot to the person who will be designated by the Chairman at the meeting, and your ballot will then be provided to the inspector of election.
• Via the Internet. You may vote by proxy via the Internet by visiting www.proxyvote.com and following the instructions provided in the Notice.
• By Telephone. You may vote by proxy by calling the toll free number found in the Notice and following the recorded instructions and the instructions found in the Notice.
• By Mail. If you request printed copies of the proxy materials by mail, you will receive a proxy card, and you may vote by proxy by filling out the proxy card and returning it in the envelope provided.

If you are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name of your broker, bank, or other agent, you should have received a Notice containing voting instructions from that organization rather than from S&W. Simply follow the voting instructions in the Notice to ensure that your vote is counted. To vote in person at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank or other agent. Follow the instructions from your broker or bank included with these proxy materials, or contact your broker or bank to request a proxy form.

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If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name, there are four ways to vote:

• In person. If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and wish to vote in person at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a "legal proxy" from the organization that holds your shares. A legal proxy is a written document that authorizes you to vote your shares held in street name at the Annual Meeting. Please contact the organization that holds your shares for instructions regarding obtaining a legal proxy.

You must bring a copy of the legal proxy to the Annual Meeting and ask for a ballot from an usher when you arrive. You must also bring valid photo identification such as a driver's license or passport. In order for your vote to be counted, you must hand both the copy of the legal proxy and your completed ballot to the person who will be designated by the Chairman at the meeting, and your ballot will then be provided to the inspector of election.

• Via the Internet. You may vote by proxy via the Internet by visiting www.proxyvote.com and entering the control number found in your Notice. The availability of Internet voting may depend on the voting process of the organization that holds your shares.
• By Telephone. You will receive a voting instruction form and you may vote by proxy by calling the toll free number found on the voting instruction form. The availability of telephone voting may depend on the voting process of the organization that holds your shares.
• By Mail. If you request printed copies of the proxy materials by mail, you will receive a voting instruction form, and you may vote by proxy by filling out the voting instruction form and returning it in the envelope provided.

A majority of the shares entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting must be present at the Annual Meeting in person or by proxy for the transaction of business. This is called a quorum. Your shares will be counted for purposes of determining if there is a quorum if you:

• Are entitled to vote and you are present in person at the Annual Meeting; or
• Have properly voted by proxy on the Internet, by telephone or by submitting a proxy card or voting instruction form by mail.

Under Nevada law, unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, a quorum is calculated based on the voting power present in person or by proxy, regardless of whether the proxy has authority to vote on all matters. Consequently, broker non-votes and withheld votes will be counted towards the presence of a quorum for holding the Annual Meeting.

A majority of shares entitled to vote at the meeting must be present at the Annual Meeting (in person or by proxy) in order to have a quorum and conduct the Annual Meeting. If a quorum is not present, we may propose to adjourn the Annual Meeting to solicit additional proxies.

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How are proxies voted?

All shares represented by valid proxies received prior to the taking of the vote at the Annual Meeting will be voted and, where a stockholder specifies by means of the proxy a choice with respect to any matter to be acted upon, the shares will be voted in accordance with the stockholder's instructions.

Stockholders of Record. If you are a stockholder of record and do not vote by completing your proxy card, by telephone, through the Internet or in person at the Annual Meeting, your shares will not be voted. If you are a stockholder of record and you:

• Indicate when voting on the Internet or by telephone that you wish to vote as recommended by the Board; or
• Sign and return a proxy card without giving specific voting instructions,

then the persons named as proxy holders, Mark W. Wong and Matthew K. Szot, will vote your shares in the manner recommended by the Board on all matters presented in this Proxy Statement and as the proxy holders may determine in their discretion with respect to any other matters properly presented for a vote at the Annual Meeting.

Beneficial Owners of Shares Held in Street Name. If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and do not provide the organization that holds your shares with specific voting instructions then, under applicable rules, the organization that holds your shares may generally vote your shares in their discretion on "routine" matters but cannot vote on "non-routine" matters. If the organization that holds your shares does not receive instructions from you on how to vote your shares on a non-routine matter, that organization will inform the inspector of election that it does not have the authority to vote on this matter with respect to your shares. This is generally referred to as a "broker non-vote."

The ratification of the selection of Crowe LLP as S&W's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 (Proposal No. 3) is considered a routine matter under applicable rules. A broker or other nominee may generally vote on routine matters, and therefore no broker non-votes are expected in connection with Proposal No. 3.

Each of the other proposals, including the election of directors (Proposal No. 1), the proposal to approve the 2019 Plan (Proposal No. 2) and the advisory approval of the compensation of S&W's named executive officers (Proposal No. 4), are considered non-routine matters under applicable rules. A broker or other nominee may not vote without instructions on non-routine matters, and therefore broker non-votes may exist in connection with Proposal No. 1, Proposal No. 2 and Proposal No. 4.

With respect to the election of directors (Proposal No. 1), S&W's Bylaws provide that our directors are elected in uncontested elections by a majority vote. In contested director elections, elections in which the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast, and the nominees receiving the greatest numbers of votes will be elected to serve as directors. The election of directors at this year's Annual Meeting is an uncontested election, and as such, the majority voting standard applies. To be elected in an uncontested election, a director must receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to the director's election. This means that a director will be elected if the number of votes cast for that director's election exceeds the number of votes cast against that nominee's election.

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Approval of Proposals No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 requires, in each case, the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares present or represented by proxy and voting at the Annual Meeting.

Abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a quorum for the transaction of business. Under Nevada law, abstentions from voting and broker non-votes are not counted as votes cast and accordingly will not count against the approval of any particular proposal.

In order to minimize the number of broker non-votes, S&W encourages you to provide voting instructions on each proposal to the organization that holds your shares by carefully following the instructions provided in the Notice and the voting instruction form.

You may revoke your proxy and change your vote at any time before the taking of the vote at the Annual Meeting. Prior to the applicable cutoff time, you may change your vote using the Internet or telephone methods described above, in which case only your latest Internet or telephone proxy submitted prior to the Annual Meeting will be counted. You may also revoke your proxy and change your vote by signing and returning a new proxy card or voting instruction form dated as of a later date, or by attending the Annual Meeting and voting in person. However, your attendance at the Annual Meeting will not automatically revoke your proxy unless you properly vote at the Annual Meeting or specifically request that your prior proxy be revoked by delivering a written notice of revocation to S&W's Secretary at 106 K Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, California 95814, prior to the Annual Meeting. If you are a beneficial owner, please contact your organization for specific instructions for changing your vote and make sure that you plan for sufficient time for your organization to meet the time deadline for delivering your revised votes or your original votes will stand.

Proxy instructions, ballots and voting tabulations that identify individual stockholders are handled in a manner that protects your voting privacy. Your vote will not be disclosed either within S&W or to third parties, except:

• To allow for the tabulation and certification of votes;
• To facilitate a successful proxy solicitation; and
• As necessary to meet applicable legal requirements or to assert or defend claims for or against S&W.

If you write comments on your proxy card or ballot, the proxy card or ballot may be forwarded to S&W's management and the Board to review your comments.

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Who will serve as the inspector of election?

A representative from Transfer Online will serve as the inspector of election.

Preliminary voting results will be announced at the Annual Meeting. Final voting results will be tallied by the inspector of election after the taking of the vote at the Annual Meeting. S&W will publish the final voting results in a Current Report on Form 8-K within four business days following the Annual Meeting.

You may present proposals (including nominations for election of directors) to be considered for inclusion in next year's proxy materials or for action at a future annual meeting only if you comply with the requirements of the proxy rules established by the SEC and our Bylaws, as applicable.

To be considered for inclusion in next year's proxy materials, your proposal must be submitted in writing to our Corporate Secretary by August 7, 2019.

For nominations or other business to be properly brought before the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders, you must have given timely notice in proper written form to our Corporate Secretary and any such proposed business must constitute a proper matter for stockholder action under the Nevada Revised Statutes. To be timely, your notice must be delivered to our principal executive offices in Sacramento, California between September 18, 2019 and October 18, 2019; provided, however, that in the event that the date of the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders is more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after January 16, 2020, your notice must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such annual meeting or the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by us.

Our Bylaws require that certain information and acknowledgments with respect to the proposal or the nominee and the stockholder making the proposal or nomination be set forth in the notice. Our Bylaws have been publicly filed with the SEC and can also be provided upon request, addressed to our Secretary, as noted above.

Stockholder proposals and director nominations must be delivered to our Corporate Secretary by mail at 106 K Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, California 95814, or by email at secretary@swseedco.com and received by our Secretary by the dates set forth above.

S&W has adopted an SEC-approved procedure called "householding." Under this procedure, S&W may deliver a single copy of the Notice and, if applicable, this Proxy Statement and the Annual Report to multiple stockholders who share the same address unless S&W has received contrary instructions from one or more of the stockholders. This procedure

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reduces the environmental impact of S&W's annual meetings and reduces S&W's printing and mailing costs. Stockholders who participate in householding will continue to receive separate proxy cards. Upon written or oral request, S&W will deliver promptly a separate copy of the Notice and, if applicable, this Proxy Statement and the Annual Report to any stockholder at a shared address to which S&W delivered a single copy of any of these documents. To receive, free of charge, a separate copy of the Notice and, if applicable, this Proxy Statement or the Annual Report, or separate copies of any future notice, Proxy Statement or annual report, stockholders may write or call Lytham Partners LLC, S&W's Investor Relations firm, at the following:

If you are receiving more than one copy of the proxy materials at a single address and would like to participate in householding, please contact Lytham Partners using the contact information above. Stockholders who hold shares in "street name" may contact their brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other similar organization to request information about householding.

How may I obtain copies of the exhibits to the 2018 Annual Report? 

A copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 is available upon request. For further information, contact Lytham Partners through the contact information provided above. Our 2018 Annual Report and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the exhibits, are also available at no cost at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov and on our website at www.swseedco.com/investors.

S&W's fiscal year ends on June 30. All information presented in this Proxy Statement is based on our fiscal calendar.

S&W is paying the costs of the solicitation of proxies. S&W has retained Broadridge and Transfer Online to assist in the printing and distribution of proxy materials. We have agreed to pay Transfer Online and Broadridge fees of approximately $20,000. Transfer Online serves as our liaison with Broadridge. If you have any questions regarding distribution of the proxy materials, you may contact Daniel Harris at Transfer Online. Transfer Online may be reached at (503) 227-2950.

S&W must also pay brokerage firms, banks, broker-dealers and other similar organizations representing beneficial owners certain fees associated with:

• Forwarding the Notice to beneficial owners;
• Forwarding printed proxy materials by mail to beneficial owners who specifically request them; and
• Obtaining beneficial owners' voting instructions.

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In addition to solicitations by mail, S&W's directors, officers, and employees, without additional compensation, may solicit proxies on S&W's behalf in person, by telephone or by electronic communication.

S&W's principal executive offices are located at 106 K Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, California 95814. S&W's main telephone number is (559) 884-2535.

Only stockholders as of the Record Date are entitled to attend the Annual Meeting. Stockholders may be requested to present valid photo identification such as a driver's license or passport and, if asked, provide proof of stock ownership as of the Record Date. The use of mobile phones, pagers, recording or photographic equipment, tablets or computers is not permitted at the Annual Meeting without prior consent of the Chairman of the Board. Even if you plan on attending the Annual Meeting in person, we encourage you to vote your shares in advance using one of the methods outlined in this Proxy Statement to ensure that your vote will be represented at the Annual Meeting. Directions to the annual meeting may be found at www.swseedco.com.

The Board is elected by our stockholders to oversee our business and affairs. In addition, the Board counsels, advises and oversees management in the long-term interests of our company and our stockholders regarding a broad range of subjects including:

• selecting and evaluating the performance of our Chief Executive Officer and other senior executives;
• reviewing and approving major financial, strategic and operating decisions and other significant actions;
• overseeing the conduct of our business and the assessment of our business risks to evaluate whether our business is being properly managed; and
• overseeing the processes for maintaining integrity with regard to our financial statements and other public disclosures, and compliance with law and ethical standards.

Members of the Board monitor and evaluate our business performance through regular communication with our Chief Executive Officer and other members of senior management, and by attending Board meetings and Board committee meetings.

Our directors are elected in uncontested elections by a majority vote. In contested director elections, elections whereby the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast, and the nominees receiving the greatest numbers of votes will be elected to serve as directors. The election of directors at the Annual Meeting is an uncontested election and thus the majority voting standard applies.

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To be elected in an uncontested election, a director must receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to such director's election. This means that a director will be elected if the number of votes cast for that director's election exceeds the number of votes cast against that nominee's election. Broker non-votes and abstentions will not be counted as votes cast, and, accordingly, will have no effect on the election of directors. In considering whether to nominate any director currently serving on the Board (an "Incumbent Director") for re-election, the Board will take into account whether the Incumbent Director has tendered an irrevocable resignation that is effective upon the Board's acceptance of such resignation in the event the director fails to receive the required vote to be re-elected, as described above. If an Incumbent Director fails to receive the required number of votes for re-election in an uncontested election, the Incumbent Director would continue to serve on the Board as a "holdover director" until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier resignation or removal pursuant to our Bylaws. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider the resignation offer and recommend to the Board whether to accept or reject the resignation of such Incumbent Director, or whether other action should be taken. The Board will endeavor to act on the recommendation within 90 days following certification of the election results. The Board will promptly disclose its decision whether to accept the director's resignation offer (and its rationale for rejecting the offer, if applicable) in a press release and filing an appropriate disclosure with the SEC. If the Board accepts the resignation, then the Board, in its sole discretion, may, pursuant to our Bylaws, fill any resulting vacancy or may decrease the size of the Board.

Nevada corporate law does not require cumulative voting in the election of directors, and neither our Articles of Incorporation nor our Bylaws provide for cumulative voting.

Our Board has affirmatively determined that Dr. Fischhoff, Ms. Madere and Messrs. Matina, Seidler, Straus, and Willits, representing a majority of the nominees standing for election, are "independent directors" as defined under the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq. In reaching its conclusions, the Board considered all relevant facts and circumstances with respect to any direct or indirect relationships between us and each of the director nominees, including those discussed under the caption "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions" below. Our Board determined that any relationships that exist or existed in the past between us and each of the foregoing nominees, if any, were immaterial on the basis of the information set forth in the above-referenced sections.

The Board proposes that the eight director nominees named in the following summary be elected as our directors, each to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and until his successor is duly elected and qualified, or until his earlier death, resignation or removal.

Our Board currently consists of nine directors. The eight persons named in the table below are nominees for director at the Annual Meeting to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until their respective successors are elected and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal. Our Bylaws provide that the authorized number of directors shall be determined by a resolution of our Board. Our Board has determined by resolution to reduce the authorized number of directors to eight effective as of the election of the directors at the Annual Meeting. Proxies may not be voted for a greater number of persons than the number of nominees named in this Proxy Statement. 

Grover T. Wickersham, who has served on our Board since October 2009, will not continue as one of our directors after the Annual Meeting. His term will expire at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting. We wholeheartedly thank Mr. Wickersham for his many years of service and his support of our company.

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The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board recommended, and the full Board has approved, David A. Fischhoff, Ph.D., Mark J. Harvey, Consuelo E. Madere, Alexander C. Matina, Charles (Chip) B. Seidler, Robert D. Straus, Alan D. Willits and Mark W. Wong as nominees for election as directors at the Annual Meeting. If elected, each of the directors will serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and until his successor is duly elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. Each of the nominees is currently a director of our company.

The following is a brief biography of each nominee for director and a discussion of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each nominee that led the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to recommend that person as a nominee for director, as of the date of this Proxy Statement.

David A. Fischhoff, Ph.D., was elected to the Board in December 2016. He has 35 years of experience in agricultural research and development ("R&D") across a broad range of technologies, product development and business development in areas including biotechnology, plant breeding, genomics, precision agriculture and data science. In addition to R&D leadership, he has expertise in new technology identification, assessment and acquisition; technology licensing; establishment and management of research collaborations; and intellectual property management and defense. Dr. Fischhoff retired in 2016 after a 33-year career with Monsanto Company and currently serves as an independent consultant and advisor. He currently serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of AgBiome, Inc., and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of CiBO Technologies. With Monsanto, he most recently served from 2014 to 2016 as Chief Scientist of The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto that develops and provides digital agriculture products and services for farmers. At The Climate Corporation, he led R&D teams in data science, field research and new measurement technologies. Prior to this, from 2002 to 2014, he was Vice President for Technology Strategy and Development at Monsanto with responsibilities for scientific strategy, identification of new growth opportunities, assessment and acquisition of new technologies, and oversight of Monsanto's research portfolio. Dr. Fischhoff is internationally recognized as a founder of agricultural biotechnology. He was responsible for the development of insect resistant transgenic crops (i.e., Bt crops), which today are a primary tool for insect control in corn, cotton and soybean in multiple countries. He is the co-inventor of the synthetic gene technology for expression of Bt genes in plants, which is the enabling technology for all insect resistant crops today. Dr. Fischhoff served as the scientific expert in the acquisition by Monsanto of multiple biotech and seed companies, including Agracetus, Calgene, Ecogen, Dekalb and Asgrow. He initiated and led Monsanto's plant genomics research program, and from 1998 to 2002 he was Co-President of Cereon Genomics LLC, a collaborative research venture between Monsanto and Millennium Pharmaceuticals; and he played leadership roles in the establishment and management of genomics research collaborations with Mendel Biotechnology, Paradigm Genetics and Ceres. Dr. Fischhoff received a S.B. degree in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from The Rockefeller University. He was the recipient of the first Innovation Prize for Agricultural Technology from the American Society of Plant Biologists in 2015 for his work on insect resistant crops, and the James B. Eads Award for outstanding achievement in technology from the Academy of Science of St. Louis in 2010. Dr. Fischhoff is also the recipient of Monsanto's two highest awards for science and technology. He is the inventor on key patents related to insect resistant plants, an author of more than 25 scientific publications, and an invited speaker at numerous national and international symposia. We believe that Dr. Fischhoff's wealth of experience in agriculture, genetics and technology qualify him to serve on the Board.

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Mark J. Harvey was appointed Chairman of the Board in December 2014, after having served as Vice Chairman since April 2013. In addition to his duties as Chairman, he actively supports our sales and marketing efforts. Mr. Harvey has more than 35 years of experience in production processing and marketing of seed to many parts of the world, particularly branded alfalfa and clover. Mr. Harvey managed a 10,000-acre family farm producing seed, wheat and pulse crops, along with wool and beef, from 1976 until 1996 when the company he founded, Paramount Seeds, was sold to Elders Ltd. While with Elders, he was manager of their national and international seed business from 1996 until 2001. In 2002, he was a founding partner of S&W Seed Company Australia Pty Ltd (f/k/a Seed Genetics International Pty Ltd, "S&W Australia"), where he focused primarily on marketing and distribution. Mr. Harvey is currently an investor in and the vice chairman of Duxton Broad Acre Farms, a 60,000 acre farming and ranching operation based in Australia. Mr. Harvey was educated at Cunderdin Agricultural College in West Australia. We believe that Mr. Harvey's extensive experience in the seed industry, which contributes valuable business expertise, qualifies him to serve on the Board.

Consuelo E. Madere was elected to the Board in January 2018. Ms. Madere has served as President and Founder of Proven Leader Advisory LLC, a management consulting and executive coaching firm, since March 2014. From May 2014 through December 2017, she served on the board of directors of Potash Corp, a publicly traded fertilizer company listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Since January 2018, she has served as an independent director of Nutrien Ltd., a publicly traded Canadian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and the surviving entity following the merger of Agrium Inc. and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Since February 2018, she has served as an independent director of Lindsay Corporation, a publicly traded company based in Omaha, Nebraska. From 1982 to April 2013, Ms. Madere served in a number of key leadership positions at Monsanto Company, a global provider of agricultural solutions, including President of the vegetable seeds division from 2008 to 2009, General Manager of the Europe/Africa division from 2005 to 2008, President of its dairy business from 2003 to 2005 and, most recently, as Vice President of its Global Vegetables and Asia commercial businesses. Since November 2013, Ms. Madere has served on the Dean's Advisory Council of the Louisiana State University Honors College. She is a member of the Latin Corporate Directors Association as well as the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. Ms. Madere is also certified by the National Association of Corporate Directors as a Governance Fellow. Ms. Madere received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa. We believe that Ms. Madere's strong industry knowledge and public company experience qualify her to serve on the Board.

Alexander C. Matina has served on the Board since May 2015. Since November 2007, he has held the office of Vice President, Investments for MFP Investors, LLC, the family office of Michael F. Price, which has a value-investing focus across public and private markets. From October 2005 to August 2007, Mr. Matina served in various roles at Balance Asset Management, a multi-strategy hedge fund, and from June 2004 to September 2005, as a senior associate at Altus Capital Partners, a middle market private equity fund. Prior thereto, he was a principal at 747 Capital, a private equity fund-of-funds, and a financial analyst at Salomon Smith Barney in the financial sponsors group of the investment banking division. Since April 2013, he has served on the board of directors of Trinity Place Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded real estate company and as its Chairman of the Board since November 2013. Since August 2007, Mr. Matina has also served as an adjunct professor of finance at Fordham University. Mr. Matina received a bachelor's degree from Fordham University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. We believe that Mr. Matina's strong finance background, including experience with private equity, as well as his experience with other public companies qualify him to serve on the Board.

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Charles (Chip) B. Seidler was elected to the Board in June 2010. Mr. Seidler has served as portfolio manager of BTG Pactual, an investment bank with operations in Latin America, since April 2018. From October 2017 to April 2018, Mr. Seidler began serving as a portfolio manager of City Financial Hedge Fund Group in London, England. From June 2010 through August 2017, he served as an executive director and senior member of a proprietary trading group of Nomura Securities in New York, New York. From January 2007 through June 2010, Mr. Seidler held various senior positions at Deutsche Bank AG in Tokyo, Japan, including Head of JPY/UST International Sales (from March 2009 until his departure in June 2010), JPY Flow Trader (from September 2008 to March 2009) and Rates Proprietary Trader from January 2007 to September 2008. Between March 2003 and January 2007, Mr. Seidler was Portfolio Manager of Caxton Associates, L.L.C., the macro hedge fund, New York, New York, where he focused on macro and relative value trading with a particular focus on the Japanese markets. He currently and during the last five years has served on numerous corporate boards of directors, however, none of them are companies with a class of equity securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Mr. Seidler received a bachelor's degree and a Masters of Arts from Colgate University. We believe that Mr. Seidler's extensive experience in the corporate boardroom and financial expertise qualify him to serve on the Board.

Robert D. Straus was elected to the Board in January 2018. Mr. Straus currently serves as a Portfolio Manager at Wynnefield Capital, Inc., an investment management firm, where he has been employed since April 2015. Wynnefield Capital Management manages two partnerships and Wynnefield Capital, Inc. manages one partnership, all three of which invest in small-cap value U.S. public equities and private companies. Prior to joining Wynnefield Capital, Inc., Mr. Straus served as a Senior Equity Analyst of Gilford Securities, an investment banking firm, from February 2009 through March 2015. Mr. Straus served as Managing Director or Senior Analyst at several investment banks over nearly 20 years. Since June 2017, Mr. Straus has served on the Board of Directors for Nature's Sunshine, a Nasdaq-listed nutritional and personal care products company, for which he also serves on the Audit committee and the Compliance Committee. Mr. Straus has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of MK Acquisition LLC, a mountain lifestyle apparel brand founded in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, since May 2015. From May 2017 to June 2018, Mr. Straus served as a member of the Board of Directors of Hollender Sustainable Brands LLC, a female sexual wellness consumer brand with headquarters in Burlington, Vermont. Mr. Straus received a B.S.B.A. degree from the University of Hartford and a M.B.A. from Bentley University. We believe that Mr. Straus' financial and public company experience, as well as Mr. Straus' extensive experience assessing capital allocation programs, evaluating business strategy and conducting in-depth due diligence, qualify him to serve on the Board.

Alan D. Willits was elected to the Board in July 2018. He has served as the Chairman of Cargill Asia Pacific since June 2014 and leads Cargill's Agriculture Supply Chain business in the Asia-Pacific region. He is responsible for several businesses within this group, including Cargill's oil palm plantations, trading and merchandising in the Asia-Pacific region, and Cargill's grains and oilseeds supply chain businesses in North Asia, South Asia and Australia. From February 2008 to May 2014, Mr. Willits served as President of Cargill Corn Milling America, where he oversaw all aspects of the corn processing business. Between January 2005 and February 2008, Mr. Willits served as President of Cargill Specialty Seed and Oil. Mr. Willits also held various other senior positions with Cargill between 1980 and 2005, during which he managed Cargill's international wheat trading activities in Geneva, Switzerland, its grain business in Argentina and its specialty canola oils business. Mr. Willits received a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, College of Agriculture in Agricultural Economics. We believe that Mr. Willits' extensive industry experience and agricultural expertise, including his knowledge of the agricultural industry in the Asia-Pacific and other geographic regions, qualify him to serve on the Board.

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Mark W. Wong was elected to the Board in December 2014. In June 2017, he was appointed to serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer. He has more than 35 years of experience in agribusiness, with particular expertise in technology integration and commercialization. Mr. Wong was a founder and, since 2009, has been a partner of Colorado Financial Holdings ("CFH"), a private venture investment and investment bank that specializes in the agricultural, energy and biotechnology sectors. Since January 2012, Mr. Wong has served as Chairman of American Dairyco, Ponte Vedra, Florida, the owner and operator of dairies in Florida and Georgia, which is a venture jointly owned by CFH. Between 2008 and December 2015, he served either as Chairman of the Board or chief executive officer of Agrivida, a private company that is developing and commercializing high-performance products that incorporate novel, regulated proteins precisely engineered for specific applications in a variety of markets, including animal nutrition, bio-based fuels and chemicals and industrial enzymes. From January 2016 to February 2016, Mr. Wong served as Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., a publicly-traded agricultural biotechnology trait company for which he also served on the board from May 2006 until February 2016. Mr. Wong was the Chief Executive Officer of Renewable Agricultural Energy Corporation, a private ethanol production company, from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that time, was the founder and, from 1999 to 2005, chief executive officer of Emergent Genetics, an international seed biotech company that was sold to Monsanto Company in 2005. Mr. Wong founded and managed a series of other agricultural and biotechnology companies, including Big Stone Partners, Agracetus Corporation, a plant biotechnology company that was sold to Monsanto and Agrigenetics Corporation, a seed and biotechnology company that was sold to Dow Chemical. Mr. Wong also worked as an engineer for FMC Corporation and Chemical Construction Corporation. Mr. Wong served as a director of BioFuel Energy Corp., a publicly traded corn ethanol company, from January 2008 until October 2014, and Chair from March 2010 to October 2014, when it was renamed Green Brick Partners following an acquisition and recapitalization transaction. Mr. Wong received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. We believe that Mr. Wong's extensive background in the agricultural and energy industries, and his many years of executive leadership experience, qualify him to serve on the Board.

Our Board has five standing committees: an Audit Committee; a Compensation Committee; a Nominating and Governance Committee; a Finance Committee; and an Acquisition and Strategy Committee, each of which meet as needed or advisable. The table below provides membership and meeting information for fiscal 2018 for each of the standing committees of the Board. In addition to formal in-person and telephonic meetings, committee members took various actions by written consent during the fiscal year and spent many hours in informal consultation with one another and with management.

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_______

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the members of the Audit Committee are Messrs. Seidler, Straus and Wickersham, with Mr. Wickersham serving as the Chair of the Audit Committee.

The Audit Committee was established in accordance with applicable SEC rules to oversee our corporate accounting and financial reporting processes and audits of its financial statements. We are required to have an Audit Committee in order to maintain our listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Our Board has determined that each of the members of our Audit Committee satisfies the requirements for Audit Committee independence and financial literacy under the current rules and regulations of the SEC and the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Board has also determined that Mr. Seidler is an "Audit Committee financial expert" as defined in SEC rules and satisfies the financial sophistication requirements of Nasdaq. This designation does not impose Mr. Seidler any duties, obligations or liabilities that are greater than is generally imposed on him as a member of our Audit Committee and our Board.

The Audit Committee is responsible for, among other things:

• selecting, hiring and terminating our independent auditors;
• evaluating the qualifications, independence and performance of our independent auditors;
• approving the audit and non-audit services to be performed by the independent auditors;
• overseeing and monitoring the integrity of our financial statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements as they relate to financial statements or accounting matters;
• with management and our independent auditors, reviewing any earnings announcements and other public announcements regarding our results of operations;
• reviewing and discussing with management and our independent registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements and annual and quarterly reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q; and

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• providing to the Board information and materials to make the Board aware of significant financial and audit-related matters that require the attention of the Board.

The Audit Committee acts under a written charter adopted and approved by our Board. A current copy of the charter of our Audit Committee is available on the Investors page on our website located at www.swseedco.com.

The following is the report of the Audit Committee with respect to the Company's audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2018. The information contained in this report shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or otherwise considered "filed" with the SEC, and such information shall not be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act except to the extent that the Company specifically incorporates such information by reference in such filing.

The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 with our management. The Audit Committee has discussed with our independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by Auditing Standard No. 1301, Communications with Audit Committees, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the "PCAOB").

The Audit Committee has also received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent accountants' communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm the accounting firm's independence.

Based on the foregoing, the Audit Committee has recommended to our Board that the audited financial statements be included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018. Our Board has approved this inclusion.

AUDIT COMMITTEE

Grover T. Wickersham (Chair)
Charles B. Seidler
Robert D. Straus

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the members of the Compensation Committee are Ms. Madere, Mr. Matina and Dr. Fischhoff, with Mr. Matina serving as the Chair of the Compensation Committee. Our Board has determined that each member of our Compensation Committee meets the requirements for independence under Rule 5605(d)(2) of the Nasdaq listing standards, the non-employee director definition of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act and the outside director definition of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Internal Revenue Code.

The Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other things:

• overseeing our compensation policies, plans and benefit programs and making recommendations to the Board with respect to improvements or changes to the compensation plans and adoption of other plans;

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• reviewing and approving with respect to our executive officers: annual base salaries, annual incentive bonuses, equity compensation, employment agreements, severance arrangements and change of control agreements/provisions, signing bonuses or payments of relocation costs and any other benefits, compensation or arrangements;
• evaluating and approving the corporate and individual goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our executive officers; and
• administering our equity compensation plans.

The Compensation Committee acts under a written charter adopted and approved by our Board. A current copy of the charter of our Compensation Committee is available on the Investors page on our website located at www.swseedco.com.

Typically, the Compensation Committee meets approximately four times per year and with greater frequency if necessary. The agenda for each meeting is usually developed by the Chair of the Compensation Committee, in consultation with the Chairman of the Board. The Compensation Committee meets regularly in executive session. However, from time to time, other directors and outside advisors or consultants may be invited to participate in Compensation Committee meetings. The Chief Executive Officer may not participate in, or be present during, any deliberations or determinations of the Compensation Committee regarding his compensation or individual performance objectives.

The charter of the Compensation Committee grants the Compensation Committee full access to all books, records, facilities and personnel of the Company. The Compensation Committee has the authority to obtain, at our expense, such advice or assistance from consultants, legal counsel, accounting or other advisors as it deems appropriate to perform its duties. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Compensation Committee may retain or obtain the advice of compensation consulting firms to assist in the performance of its duties and to determine and approve the terms, fees and costs of such engagements. Under its charter, prior to selecting, or receiving advice from, any consultant or advisor, the Compensation Committee is required to consider the independence of such advisor based on any applicable criteria specified by the SEC or Nasdaq, including the independence factors listed in Nasdaq Rule 5605(d)(3). However, the Compensation Committee is not prohibited from obtaining advice from advisors that it determines are not independent. During fiscal 2018, the Compensation Committee did not retain the services of any outside consultants.

The specific determinations of the Compensation Committee with respect to executive compensation for fiscal 2018 are described in greater detail in the Executive Compensation section of this Proxy Statement.

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Ms. Madere, Dr. Fischhoff and Messrs. Seidler, Wickersham and Willits, with Ms. Madere serving as the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Our Board has determined that each member of our Nominating and Governance Committee meets the requirements for independence under the current rules of the SEC and Nasdaq.

The goal of the Nominating and Governance Committee is to ensure that the members of our Board have a variety of perspectives and skills derived from high-quality business and professional experience. The Nominating and Governance Committee seeks to achieve a balance of knowledge, experience and capability on our Board. To this end, the committee seeks nominees with high professional and personal integrity, an understanding of our business lines and industry, diversity of business experience and

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expertise, broad-based business acumen and the ability to think strategically. Although neither we nor our Nominating and Governance Committee has a formal policy about diversity in the nominee selection process, our Nominating and Governance Committee charter states that the committee's goal is to develop a diverse and experienced board. In the context of the existing composition and needs of the board and its committees, the Nominating and Governance Committee considers various factors, including, but not limited to, independence, age, diversity (which, in this context, means race, ethnicity and gender), integrity, skills, financial and other expertise, breadth of experience and knowledge about our business or industry. Although the Nominating and Governance Committee uses these and other criteria to evaluate potential nominees, we have not established any particular minimum criteria for nominees. After its evaluation of potential nominees, the committee submits nominees to the Board for approval. When appropriate, the Nominating and Governance Committee may in the future retain executive recruitment firms to assist in identifying suitable candidates but has not done so in connection with the Annual Meeting.

The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things:

• assisting our Board in identifying prospective director nominees and recommending to our Board the director nominees for each annual meeting of stockholders;
• evaluating the performance of current members of our Board;
• ensuring that our Board is properly constituted to meet its fiduciary obligations to us and our stockholders and that we follow appropriate governance standards;
• developing principles of corporate governance and recommending them to our Board;
• overseeing compliance by our Board and its committees with applicable laws and regulations, including those promulgated by the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq; and
• overseeing the evaluation of our Board and recommending compensation of Board members.

The Nominating and Governance Committee acts under a written charter adopted and approved by our Board. A current copy of the charter of our Nominating and Governance Committee is available on the Investors page on our website located at www.swseedco.com.

The Finance Committee provides ad-hoc recommendations and guidance to the full Board on issues related to the financing of the Company. As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the Finance Committee was comprised of Messrs. Matina, Seidler and Wong, with Mr. Matina serving as the Chair of the Finance Committee.

The Acquisition and Strategy Committee provides ad-hoc recommendations and guidance to the full Board in connection with identifying and pricing potential acquisition candidates and transactions. As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the Acquisition and Strategy Committee was comprised of Messrs. Harvey, Matina, Straus, Willits and Wong, with Mr. Matina serving as the Chair of the Acquisition and Strategy Committee.

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Board Independence

At all times throughout fiscal 2018, our Board consisted of a majority of independent directors. Of our nine current directors, throughout fiscal 2018 only the Chief Executive Officer was an employee. Our Board consults with our counsel to ensure that the Board's determinations are consistent with relevant securities and other laws and regulations regarding the definition of "independent," including those set forth in pertinent listing standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market, as in effect from time to time. Our Board has affirmatively determined that Dr. Fischhoff, Ms. Madere and Messrs. Matina, Seidler, Straus and Willits, representing a majority of the director nominees, are "independent directors" as defined under the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq. In reaching its conclusions, the Board considered all relevant facts and circumstances with respect to any direct or indirect relationships between us and each of the directors, including those discussed under the caption "Transactions with Related Persons" below. Our Board determined that any relationships that exist or existed in the past between us and each of the foregoing nominees, if any, were immaterial on the basis of the information set forth in the above-referenced sections.

In order to promote open discussion among independent directors, our Board has a policy of conducting executive sessions of the independent directors. The Board holds regular executive sessions of the independent directors at least four times per year in connection with regularly-scheduled Board meetings and holds executive sessions at other times throughout the year as needed or desired. These directors may designate one of their number to preside at each session, although it need not be the same director at each session. Regardless of the fact that these executive sessions are required by Nasdaq, we believe they are important vehicles to encourage open communication. Whether a presiding director is selected for each session or not, one among the directors present is designated to communicate the results of each such meeting to the full Board.

The Board met seven times in fiscal 2018. Each member of the Board attended or participated in 75% or more of the aggregate of (i) the total number of meetings of the Board held during the period for which such person has been a director, and (ii) the total number of meetings held by each committee of the Board on which such person served during the periods that such person served.

Our directors are strongly encouraged to attend each annual meeting of stockholders, although such attendance is not required. All of our then-current directors attended the Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on January 9, 2018.

The Board does not have a formal policy on whether or not the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer should be separate and, if they are to be separate, whether the Chairman of the Board should be selected from the non-employee directors or be an employee. The Board believes that it should be free to make a choice from time to time in any manner that is in the best interests of our company and our stockholders. Currently, we separate the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Harvey serves as the Chairman and Mr. Wong serves as Chief Executive Officer. The Board believes that this separation is presently appropriate as it allows the Chief Executive Officer to focus primarily on leading the day-to-day operations of our company, while the Chairman can focus on leading the Board in its consideration of strategic issues and monitoring corporate governance and other stockholder issues.

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Each of the committees of the Board consists entirely of independent directors.

Our Chairman is selected by a majority of the Board. The Chairman may be replaced at any time by a vote of a majority of the Board then serving; provided, however, that the Chairman may not be removed as a director of the Company except in accordance with the Nevada Revised Statutes, our Bylaws, and other applicable law.

Our Board, as a whole and through its committees, has responsibility for the oversight of risk management. With the oversight of our full Board, our senior management are responsible for the day-to-day management of the material risks we face. In its oversight role, our Board has the responsibility to satisfy itself that the risk management processes designed and implemented by management are adequate and functioning as designed. This involvement of the Board in setting our business strategy is a key part of its oversight of risk management, its assessment of management's appetite for risk and its determination of what constitutes an appropriate level of risk for us. Additionally, our Board regularly receives updates from senior management and outside advisors regarding certain risks we face, including various operating risks. Our senior management attends meetings of our Board, and each committee meets with key management personnel and representatives of outside advisors as necessary. Additionally, senior management makes itself available to address any questions or concerns raised by the board on risk management and any other matters.

Each of our Board committees oversees certain aspects of risk management.

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Additional review or reporting on enterprise risks will be conducted as needed or as requested by the Board or a committee thereof.

Stockholders and interested parties who wish to contact our Board, our Chairman, any other individual director, or the non-management or independent directors as a group, are welcome to do so in writing, addressed to such person(s) in care of our Corporate Secretary. Email correspondence of this nature should be sent to secretary@swseedco.com, and other written correspondence should be addressed to S&W Seed Company, 106 K Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, California 95814, Attention: Secretary.

Our Board has adopted a formal process by which stockholders may communicate with the Board or any of its members. These communications will be reviewed by our Corporate Secretary, who will then determine whether the communication is appropriate for presentation to the Board or the relevant director. The purposes of this screening is to avoid the Board having to consider spam, junk mail, mass mailings, customer complaints or inquiries, job inquiries, surveys, business solicitations or advertisements, or patently offensive or otherwise inappropriate or irrelevant material. The Corporate Secretary will determine, in her discretion, whether any response is necessary and may forward certain correspondence, such as customer-related inquiries, elsewhere within our company for review and possible response. Comments or questions regarding our accounting, internal controls or auditing matters will be referred to the Audit Committee. Comments or questions regarding the nomination of directors and other corporate governance matters will be referred to the Nominating and Governance Committee. Comments or questions regarding executive compensation will be referred to the Compensation Committee.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which our stockholders may recommend nominees to the Board as disclosed in our previous periodic reports filed with the SEC.

Our Board values effective corporate governance and adherence to high ethical standards. As such, our Board has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which is applicable to all of our employees, officers and directors, including our senior executive and financial officers. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on our corporate website located at www.swseedco.com/investors.

We will provide our code of ethics in print without charge to any stockholder who makes a written request to: S&W Seed Company, 106 K Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, California 95814, Attention: Secretary, or by e-mail to secretary@swseedco.com. Any waivers of the application of, and any amendments to, our code of ethics must be made by our Board and will be disclosed promptly on our Internet website, www.swseedco.com.

Our Board believes that sound governance practices and policies provide an important framework to assist them in fulfilling their duty to stockholders. Our Board has implemented many "best practices" in the area of corporate governance, including the establishment of separate committees of our board, careful annual review of the independence of our Audit and Compensation Committee members, maintenance of a majority of independent directors, and written expectations of management, among other things.

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Non-Employee Director Compensation

Our director compensation programs are designed to provide an appropriate incentive to attract and retain qualified non-employee board members. The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for reviewing the equity and cash compensation for directors on an annual basis and making recommendations to the Board, in the event it determines changes are needed.

The following table summarizes the fiscal 2018 compensation earned by each person who served on the Board at any time during fiscal 2018, other than Mr. Wong, our President and Chief Executive Officer, whose compensation is described under "Executive Compensation Overview" beginning on page 30.

____________

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Directors who are also our employees do not receive any additional compensation for their service on the Board. Other than our Chairman, non-employee directors receive an annual cash retainer of $30,000. In fiscal 2018, the Chairman of the Board was paid an annual cash retainer of $175,000, payable monthly.

In addition to the annual retainer, non-employee directors receive:

• an annual restricted stock unit award for a number of shares equal to $22,500 divided by the price per share of our common stock on the date of grant; and
• an annual option grant to purchase a number of shares equal to $22,500 divided by the price per share of our common stock on the date of grant.

For service on the various committees of our Board, our non-employee directors receive:

• an annual retainer of $25,000, $20,000, $15,000, $15,000 and $25,000 for service as chair of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, Finance Committee and Acquisition and Strategy Committee, respectively; and
• an annual retainer of $12,500, $10,000, $7,500, $7,500 and $25,000 for service as a member of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, Finance Committee and Acquisition and Strategy Committee, respectively.

These committee retainers are paid 70% in cash and 30% in equity, with the equity portion divided equally into:

• a restricted stock unit award for a number of shares based on the price per share of our common stock on the date of grant; and
• an option grant to purchase a number of shares based on the price per share of our common stock on the date of grant.

These equity awards are granted following our annual stockholders meeting each year, and vest on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant.

We also reimburse non-employee directors for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending Board and committee meetings and for other company-related out-of-pocket expenses they may incur.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth the name and certain information as of the date of this Proxy Statement about our executive officers who are not members of our Board. Biographical information about Mark W. Wong, our President and Chief Executive Officer, can be found on page 15.

Mr. Szot has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since March 2010. In August 2014, he was designated our Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration, after having held the title of Senior Vice President prior thereto. Mr. Szot also serves as a member of the Boards of our wholly owned subsidiaries, S&W Seed Australia Pty Ltd and S&W Australia. Mr. Szot is also currently a Director and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee of SenesTech, a publicly traded life science company focused on animal health. Mr. Szot is also on the board of directors and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee of Eastside Distilling, Inc., a publicly traded company in the craft spirits industry. From February 2007 until October 2011, Mr. Szot served as the Chief Financial Officer for Cardiff Partners, LLC, a strategic consulting company that provided executive financial services to various publicly traded and privately held companies. From 2003 to December 2006, Mr. Szot served as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Rip Curl, Inc., a market leader in wetsuit and action sports apparel products. From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Szot was a Certified Public Accountant with KPMG and served as an Audit Manager for various publicly traded companies. Mr. Szot received a B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics/Accountancy from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California.

Mr. Panter was appointed as our Executive Vice President, Americas in October 2018. Mr. Panter has more than 20 years of experience as an agribusiness executive, with time spent in both start-up and turn-around business situations and expertise in such areas as product/project development, global business, strategic planning and technology evaluation. From March 2018 until his appoint as our Executive Vice President, Americas in October 2018, Mr. Panter worked as an independent consultant for us. From November 2012 to March 2018, Mr. Panter served as President and Chief Executive Officer of American DairyCo, a privately held, U.S.-based commercial dairy company consisting of about 10,000 dairy cows and agricultural operations across 5,000 acres in across the South and Southeastern U.S., where he managed all business operations and reported to the Board of Directors. Mr. Panter has also previously served in leadership positions at several seed and biotechnology companies, including Stoneville Pedigreed Seed, Emergent Genetics, Harris Moran Seed Company and Mendel BioEnergy Seeds. Mr. Panter earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics, and B.S. in Plant and Soil Science, all from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Mr. Callachor joined S&W in January 2018 as our Commercial Manager - Hybrid Crops. In October 2018, Mr. Callachor was promoted to serve as our Executive Vice President, International. Mr. Callachor is a senior agribusiness executive with over 20 years of experience in the agriculture industry, including extensive international experience in hybrid seeds, traits and new technologies. From May 2015 to January 2018, Mr. Callachor served Limagrain as its Group Sales Manager for South East Asia, where he

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was responsible for all commercial activities in field crops in South East Asia based in Bangkok Thailand, established a Joint Venture Business in Indonesia, managed sales and marketing staff in Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar Export sales, and also established product registrations in South America and Africa. Mr. Callachor served as Regional Manager at Sacoa in Australia from February 2014 and April 2015, where he was responsible for all commercial operations for Northern Australia primarily for field crops and cotton. Mr. Callachor worked as a consultant for The Grains Research and Development Corporation, a statutory corporation in Australia and one of the world's leading grains research organizations. From January 2012 to December 2013, he also served as National Farm Services Manager for Landmark, an Agrium Company, in Australia, where he managed all technology and service offering in the field for the Landmark farm services business, a major farm input supplier in Australian agriculture. Mr. Callachor previously served in various roles for Advanta International, a global seed company, between 2004 and 2009.

On June 19, 2017 in connection with his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Wong (the "Wong Employment Agreement"), pursuant to which Mr. Wong is entitled to receive the following compensation:

• annual base salary of $350,000;
• eligibility to receive an annual performance bonus, with an initial target bonus of up to $800,000, payable 70% in equity awards and 30% in cash, of which his cash portion for fiscal year 2018 is guaranteed at a minimum of $240,000; and
• an initial stock option grant under our Amended and Restated 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, exercisable for up to 150,000 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price per share equal to the fair market value on the date of grant, all of which shares will be subject to monthly vesting over a three-year period.

In addition, Mr. Wong is entitled to reimbursement of certain business and travel expenses, including up to $5,000 per month for expenses related to commuting from Colorado to our offices in Sacramento, California. The Wong Employment Agreement also provides that, in the event Mr. Wong's employment is terminated without cause, or he resigns for good reason (each as defined in the Wong Employment Agreement) he will be entitled to:

• the vesting of all of his outstanding equity awards will immediately accelerate in full as of the date of such termination or resignation, and the exercise period for each stock option held as of the date of termination will be extended to the remainder of the full term of the option, and
• (i) a cash severance payment equal to twelve months of his base salary in effect at the time of his termination, plus the full amount of the possible bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year (the "Cash Severance Payment"), and (ii) payment of health insurance premiums for twelve months, all subject to the Company's timely receipt of an effective release and waiver of claims from Mr. Wong.

In addition, in the event of a change of control, or in the event we sell all or substantially all of our assets, and Mr. Wong is not offered a comparable position with the successor-in-interest resulting from such

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transaction, he will be entitled to receive (x) an amount equal to the Cash Severance Payment multiplied by two (provided that the multiplier shall be increased to three in the event the price of our common stock payable in connection with such transaction is at least $10 per share); and (y) payment of health insurance premiums for two years from the date of such transaction (or three years in the event the price of our common stock payable in connection with such transaction is at least $10 per share). Further, provided that Mr. Wong is employed by us immediately prior to any such change in control transaction, the vesting of all of his outstanding equity will accelerate in full as of immediately prior to the effective time of such transaction, and the exercise period for each stock option held as of the date of such transaction will be extended to the remainder of the full term of the option.

In December 2018 our Board approved changes to the terms of Mr. Wong's compensation, effective October 25, 2018 and for a period of two years, pursuant to which Mr. Wong is entitled to receive the following compensation:

• annual base salary of $475,000; and
• eligibility to receive an annual performance bonus, with an initial target bonus of $855,000, subject to a maximum amount equal to $1,045,000, payable 70% in equity awards and 30% in cash.

In addition, our Board approved changes to Mr. Wong's severance in connection with a change of control. As modified, in the event of a change of control, or in the event we sell all or substantially all of our assets, and Mr. Wong is not offered a comparable position with the successor-in-interest resulting from such transaction, under Mr. Wong will be entitled to the following:

• provided that Mr. Wong is employed by us immediately prior to any such change in control transaction, the vesting of all of his outstanding equity will accelerate in full as of immediately prior to the effective time of such transaction, and the exercise period for each stock option held as of the date of such transaction will be extended to the remainder of the full term of the option;
• in the event the price of our common stock payable in connection with such transaction is less than $6 per share, a cash severance payment equal to the sum of (i) twelve months of his base salary in effect at the time of his termination, plus (ii) two times the full amount of the possible cash component of the bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year;
• in the event the price of our common stock payable in connection with such transaction is between $6 per share and $9 per share, (a) a cash severance payment equal to the sum of (i) twenty-four months of his base salary in effect at the time of his termination, plus (ii) two times the full amount of the possible cash component of the bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year, and (b) two times the full amount of the possible equity component of the bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year;
• in the event the price of our common stock payable in connection with such transaction is between $9 per share and $12 per share, (a) a cash severance payment equal to the sum of (i) thirty months of his base salary in effect at the time of his termination, plus (ii) two and a half times the full amount of the possible cash component of the bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year, and (b) two and a half times the full amount of the possible equity component of the bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year; and

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• in the event the price of our common stock payable in connection with such transaction is greater than $12 per share, (a) a cash severance payment equal to the sum of (i) thirty-six months of his base salary in effect at the time of his termination, plus (ii) three times the full amount of the possible cash component of the bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year, and (b) three times the full amount of the possible equity component of the bonus compensation to which he would have been entitled for the current year.

Except as discussed above, the principal terms of the Mr. Wong's employment remain consistent with those in the Wong Employment Agreement.

In March 2016, we entered into a three-year employment agreement with Mr. Szot, effective January 1, 2016 and expiring on December 31, 2018. The principal terms of Mr. Szot's employment agreement are as follows:

• Mr. Szot will continue to serve as our Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer.
• Mr. Szot's annual base salary is initially fixed at $285,000, which is the salary we have paid him as of January 1, 2015. The base salary is subject to periodic review (not less frequently than annually).
• Bonus compensation shall be payable in the discretion of the Compensation Committee upon consideration of personal and Company financial goals mutually agreed upon by the Compensation Committee and Mr. Szot. Initially, an annual incentive bonus of up to 100% of the base salary may be paid, which is payable 65% in cash and 35% in equity. The amount of the bonus compensation, allocation between cash and equity and the target goals will be subject to annual review.
• Mr. Szot will continue to be eligible to participate in our equity incentive plan or plans in effect from time to time and shall be considered for grants and awards at such times and in such amounts as shall be deemed appropriate by the Compensation Committee.
• Mr. Szot will be entitled to various executive benefits and perquisites, including, without limitation, all generally provided company employee benefits, plus life insurance purchased for his beneficiaries by us.
• In the event Mr. Szot's employment is terminated without cause (as defined in the Szot Employment Agreement), he will be entitled to receive a cash severance payment equal to 12 months of his then-current base salary, plus the cash value of the maximum incentive bonus compensation to which he could be entitled for the current year.
• In the event of a change of control, and provided that Mr. Szot is not offered a comparable position (as defined in the Szot Employment Agreement) by the surviving company, he will be entitled to a severance payment equal to (a) his annual base salary as in effect immediately before the change of control transaction plus (b) the full amount of the current year's targeted incentive bonus compensation, multiplied by a factor of 1.5; provided, however, that the multiplier shall be increased to a factor of two in the event the price of our Common Stock payable in connection with the change of control transaction is at least $10 per share. In addition, we will pay, or cause to be paid, Mr. Szot's health insurance premiums for one and a half years from the date of the change of control transaction or, in the event the transaction price is at least $10 per share, for two years.

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• Whether due to a termination without cause or a change of control, all equity grants and awards shall vest in full and be non-forfeitable immediately before the date of termination on a termination without cause or the change of control event.

In December 2018 our Board approved changes to the terms of Mr. Szot's compensation, effective October 25, 2018 and for a period of two years, pursuant to which Mr. Szot is entitled to receive the following compensation:

• annual base salary of $310,000; and
• eligibility to receive an annual performance bonus, with an initial target bonus of 110% of his base salary, subject to a maximum amount equal to 135% of his base salary, payable 50% in equity awards and 50% in cash.

Except as discussed in the foregoing paragraph, the principal terms of Mr. Szot's new employment agreement remain the same as those in his prior employment agreement.

In August 2016, we entered into a new three-year employment agreement with Mr. Gardner (the "Gardner Employment Agreement"). The Principal terms of Mr. Gardner's employment agreement are as follows:

• Mr. Gardner will serve as our Chief Marketing and Technology Officer.
• Mr. Gardner's annual base salary is initially fixed at $225,000. The base salary is subject to periodic review (not less frequently than annually).
• Bonus compensation shall be payable in the discretion of the Compensation Committee upon consideration of personal and Company financial goals mutually agreed upon by the Compensation Committee and Mr. Gardner. Initially, an annual incentive bonus of up to 100% of the base salary may be paid, which is payable 65% in cash and 35% in equity. The amount of the bonus compensation, allocation between cash and equity and the target goals will be subject to annual review.
• Mr. Gardner will continue to be eligible to participate in our equity incentive plan or plans in effect from time to time and shall be considered for grants and awards at such times and in such amounts as shall be deemed appropriate by the Compensation Committee.
• Mr. Gardner will be entitled to various executive benefits and perquisites, including, without limitation, all generally provided company employee benefits, life insurance for the benefit of his beneficiaries, a death benefit equal to his base salary at the time of death, if he dies while on Company-related business or two times his base salary at the time of death, if he dies while on company-related business and a car allowance.
• In the event Mr. Gardner's employment is terminated without cause (as defined in the Gardner Employment Agreement), he will be entitled to receive a cash severance payment equal to 12 months of his then-current base salary, plus the cash value of the maximum incentive bonus compensation to which he could be entitled for the current year.

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• In the event of a change of control, and provided that Mr. Gardner is not offered a comparable position (as defined in the Gardner Employment Agreement) by the surviving company, he will be entitled to a severance payment equal to (a) his annual base salary as in effect immediately before the change of control transaction plus (b) the full amount of the current year's targeted incentive bonus compensation, multiplied by a factor of 1.5; provided, however, that the multiplier shall be increased to a factor of two in the event the price of our Common Stock payable in connection with the change of control transaction is at least $10 per share. In addition, we will pay, or cause to be paid, Mr. Gardner's health insurance premiums for one and a half years from the date of the change of control transaction or, in the event the transaction price is at least $10 per share, for two years.
• Whether due to a termination without cause or a change of control, all equity grants and awards shall vest in full and be non-forfeitable immediately before the date of termination on a termination without cause or the change of control event.

On October 29, 2018, we announced our implementation of an internal reorganization, principally to structure our management team along geographic lines instead of functional lines. As part of the reorganization, Mr. Gardner was reassigned from his position as Chief Marketing and Technology Officer to the position of Senior Vice President, Technology and Breeding for the Americas.

Each of the above employment agreements defines "change-of-control" as the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company or the acquisition of the Company by another entity by means of consolidation or merger after which the then S&W stockholders before the transaction hold less than 50% of the voting power of the surviving corporation; provided, however, that a reincorporation of the Company will not be deemed a Change of Control.

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide a separately-captioned "Compensation Discussion and Analysis" section. However, in order to provide a greater understanding to our stockholders regarding our compensation policies and decisions with respect to our Named Executive Officers, we are including additional information regarding the compensation of our Named Executive Officers.

Compensation for our executives and key employees is designed to attract and retain people who share our vision and values and who can consistently perform in such a manner that enables the Company to achieve its strategic goals. The Compensation Committee believes that the total compensation package for each of our executive officers is competitive with the market, thereby allowing us to retain executive talent capable of leveraging the skills of our employees and our unique assets in order to increase stockholder value. Our Named Executive Officers refers to those executive officers identified in the Summary Compensation Table below. Our Named Executive Officers for fiscal year 2018 included the following individuals: Mark W. Wong, President and Chief Executive Officer; Matthew K. Szot, Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; and Danielson B. Gardner, formerly our Chief Marketing and Technology Officer (now serving as our Senior Vice President, Technology and Breeding for the Americas).

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The Company's executive compensation programs are designed to (1) motivate and reward our executive officers, (2) retain our executive officers and encourage their quality service, (3) incentivize our executive officers to appropriately manage risks while improving our financial results, and (4) align executive officers' interests with those of our stockholders. Under these programs, our executive officers are rewarded for the achievement of company objectives and the realization of increased stockholder value.

The program seeks to remain competitive with the market while also aligning the executive compensation program with stockholder interests through the following types of compensation: (i) base salary; (ii) annual cash-based incentive bonuses; and (iii) equity-based incentive awards.

The compensation policies developed by the Compensation Committee are based on the philosophy that compensation should reflect both Company-wide performance, financially and operationally, and the individual performance of the executive, including management of personnel under his supervision. The Compensation Committee's objectives when setting compensation for our executive officers include:

• Setting compensation levels that are sufficiently competitive such that they will motivate and reward the highest quality individuals to contribute to our goals, objectives and overall financial success. This is done in part through reviewing and comparing the compensation of other companies in our peer group.
• Retaining executives and encouraging their continued quality service, thereby encouraging and maintaining continuity of the management team. Our competitive base salaries combined with cash and equity incentive bonuses, retirement plan benefits and the vesting requirements of our equity-based incentive awards, encourage high-performing executives to remain with the Company.
• Incentivizing executives to appropriately manage risks while attempting to improve our financial results, performance and condition.
• Aligning executive and stockholder interests. The Compensation Committee believes the use of equity compensation as a key component of executive compensation is a valuable tool for aligning the interests of our executive officers with those of our stockholders.

Our compensation program is designed to reward superior performance of both the Company and each individual executive and seeks to encourage actions that drive our business strategy. In fiscal 2016, we instituted a process by which the Compensation Committee or a member thereof, meets with each of our executives quarterly to review performance, goals and expectations so that our annual compensation decisions, when made, will be more transparent. We found this regular line of communication to be helpful, both for our executives and for the Compensation Committee, and as such, the process continued in fiscal 2018.

The Role of the Compensation Committee in Setting Compensation. Our Compensation Committee determines and recommends to our Board the compensation of our executive officers. The Compensation Committee also administers our equity incentive plans. The Compensation Committee reviews base salary levels for executive officers of our company and recommends raises and bonuses based upon the company's achievements, individual performance and competitive and market conditions. The Compensation Committee may delegate certain of its responsibilities, as it deems appropriate, to compensation subcommittees or to our officers, but it has not elected to do so to date.

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The Role of Executives in Setting Compensation. While the Compensation Committee does not delegate any of its functions to others in setting the compensation of senior management, it includes members of senior management in the Compensation Committee's executive compensation process. We have asked each of our senior executives to annually provide us with input with regard to their goals for the coming year. These proposals include suggested company-wide and individual performance goals. The individual goals include not only the goals of such executive but also goals of the employees for whom the executive is responsible. The Compensation Committee reviews these proposals with the executives and provides the Committee's perspective on those aspects that the Committee may feel should be modified. Quarterly meetings with the executives will permit an ongoing dialog to further our goal of enhancing communication and managing expectations regarding compensation matters.

The Role of Consultants in Setting Compensation. In fiscal 2018, the Compensation Committee did not retain compensation consultants to assist it in its review of executive compensation although it is empowered by its charter to do so. As the Compensation Committee deems necessary or helpful, it may retain the services of compensation consultants in connection with the establishment and development of our compensation philosophy and programs in the future.

As part of its risk assessment process, the Compensation Committee reviewed material elements of executive and non-executive employee compensation. The Compensation Committee concluded that these policies and practices do not create risk that is reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

The structure of our compensation program for our executive officers does not incentivize unnecessary or excessive risk taking. The base salary component of compensation does not encourage risk taking because it is a fixed amount. The incentive plan awards have risk-limiting characteristics:

• Annual incentive awards to each of our executive officers are limited to the fixed maximum specified in the incentive plan;
• Annual incentive awards are based on a review of a variety of performance factors, thus diversifying the risk associated with any single aspect of performance;
• The Compensation Committee, which is composed of independent members of our Board, approves final incentive plan cash and stock awards in its discretion after reviewing executive and corporate performance; and
• The significant portion of long-term value is delivered in shares of the Company with a multi-year vesting schedule, which aligns the interests of our executive officers to the long-term interests of our stockholders.

The material elements of the compensation program for our Named Executive Officers include: (i) base salary; (ii) cash-based incentive bonuses; and (iii) equity-based incentive awards.

Base Salaries. We provide our Named Executive Officers with a base salary to compensate them for services rendered during the fiscal year and sustained performance. The purpose of the base salary is to reflect job responsibilities, value to us and competitiveness of the market. Salaries for our Named Executive Officers are determined by the Compensation Committee based on the following factors: nature and responsibility of the position and, to the extent available, salary norms for comparable positions; the expertise of the individual executive; and the competitiveness of the market for the executive's services.

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Performance Cash-Based Incentive Bonuses. Our practice is to award cash-based incentive bonuses, based in part on the achievement of performance objectives or significant accomplishments as established by the Compensation Committee from time-to-time in its discretion. These performance objectives and significant accomplishments are, in part, developed in partnership with the executive and are discussed on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

Equity-Based Incentive Awards. Our equity-based incentive awards are designed to align our interests with those of our employees and consultants, including our Named Executive Officers. Our Compensation Committee is responsible for approving equity grants. As of the end of fiscal 2018, our Named Executive Officers have been granted both stock option awards and restricted stock units. Vesting of the stock option and restricted stock unit awards is tied to continuous service with us and serves as an additional retention measure and long-term incentive.

For fiscal 2018, each of our Named Executive Officers, except for our Chief Executive Officer, was entitled to receive an annual discretionary incentive bonus of up to 100% of his base salary, payable 65% in cash and 35% in equity. Our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wong, was entitled to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with an initial target bonus of up to $800,000, payable 70% in equity and 30% in cash, of which Mr. Wong's cash portion for fiscal 2018 was guaranteed at a minimum of $240,000. Following the completion of the 2018 fiscal year, each of these executive officers evaluated himself against his specific goals and presented his assessment to the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee followed with its own review of these self-assessments, in addition to its review of the fiscal 2018 corporate goals and objectives for these executive officers and their performance in light of these goals and objectives. Based on its review, in August 2018 the Compensation Committee determined the fiscal 2018 cash and equity incentive awards for our Named Executive Officers, as follows:

• Base Pay. Pursuant to their respective employment agreements, below are the base salaries that were in effect during fiscal 2018 for our Named Executive Officers eligible to receive an annual incentive bonus:

In December 2018, our Board approved increases to Mr. Wong's and Mr. Szot's base salaries to $475,000 and $310,000, respectively, effective October 25, 2018. Mr. Gardner's base salary has remained fixed since its initial determination in 2016.

• Cash-Based Incentive Compensation. 65% of each of Messrs. Szot's and Gardner's bonuses was payable in cash. Mr. Wong was guaranteed a minimum cash bonus of $240,000. The following cash incentive bonuses were determined in August 2018 for performance during fiscal 2018:

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• Equity-Based Incentive Compensation. The remaining 35% of each of Messrs. Szot's and Gardner's total bonuses was payable in equity and divided equally into a restricted stock unit award and a stock option grant. The remaining $240,000 of Mr. Wong's total bonus was payable in equity and divided equally into a restricted stock unit award and a stock option grant. Based on the final assessments of the Compensation Committee, in August 2018, these executive officers were granted the following equity incentive awards under our Amended and Restated 2009 Equity Incentive Plan:

All of the options and restricted stock units awarded as incentive bonus compensation vest quarterly over three years, commencing on October 1, 2018.

The following table sets forth certain information for the fiscal years ended 2018 and 2017 regarding the compensation of (i) our Chief Executive Officer and (ii) our two most highly compensated executive officers other than our Chief Executive Officer who were serving as executive officers at the end of the end of fiscal 2018. These individuals are referred to herein as our "Named Executive Officers."

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__________

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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End 2018

The following table sets forth information regarding each unexercised option award held by our Named Executive Officers as of June 30, 2018.

__________

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PROPOSALS

This Proxy Statement contains four proposals requiring stockholder action:

• Proposal No. 1 requests the election to our Board of the eight nominees named in this Proxy Statement.
• Proposal No. 2 requests the approval of the S&W Seed Company 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan").
• Proposal No. 3 requests the ratification of the selection of Crowe LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019.
• Proposal No. 4 requests that stockholders vote, on an advisory basis, to approve the compensation of our Named Executive Officers, as disclosed in this Proxy Statement.

The business and affairs of our company are managed under the direction of the Board, as provided by Nevada law and our Bylaws. The Board establishes corporate policies and strategies and supervises the implementation and execution of those policies and strategies by our officers and employees. The directors are kept informed of our company operations at meetings of the Board, through reports and analyses prepared by, and discussions with, company management.

Our Board currently consists of nine directors. The Board proposes that the eight director-nominees named in the following summary be elected, each to hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until his or her successor is elected, or, if sooner, until his or her death, resignation or removal. Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that the number of members of the Board may be set by the Board. The Board has determined by resolution to reduce the authorized number of directors to eight as of the election of the directors at the Annual Meeting. Proxies may not be voted for a greater number of persons than the number of nominees named in this Proxy Statement.

Our directors are elected in uncontested elections by a majority vote. In contested director elections, elections whereby the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast and the nominees receiving the greatest numbers of votes will be elected to serve as directors. The election of directors at the Annual Meeting is an uncontested election and thus the majority voting standard applies.

To be elected in an uncontested election, a director must receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to such director's election. This means that a director will be elected if the number of votes cast for that director's election exceeds the number of votes cast against that nominee's election. Broker non-votes and abstentions will not be counted as votes cast, and, accordingly, will have no effect on the election of directors. In considering whether to nominate any director currently serving on the Board (an "Incumbent Director") for re-election, the Board will take into account whether the Incumbent Director has tendered an irrevocable resignation that is effective upon the Board's acceptance of such

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resignation in the event the director fails to receive the required vote to be re-elected, as described above. If an Incumbent Director fails to receive the required number of votes for re-election in an uncontested election, the Incumbent Director would continue to serve on the Board as a "holdover director" until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier resignation or removal pursuant to our Bylaws. The Nominating and Governance Committee will consider the resignation offer and recommend to the Board whether to accept or reject the resignation of such Incumbent Director, or whether other action should be taken. The Board will endeavor to act on the recommendation within 90 days following certification of the election results. The Board will promptly disclose its decision whether to accept the director's resignation offer (and its rationale for rejecting the offer, if applicable) in a press release and filing an appropriate disclosure with the SEC. If the Board accepts the resignation, then the Board, in its sole discretion, may, pursuant to our Bylaws, fill any resulting vacancy or may decrease the size of the Board.

Nevada corporate law does not require cumulative voting in the election of directors, and neither our Articles of Incorporation nor Bylaws provide for cumulative voting.

The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board recommended, and the full Board has approved, David A. Fischhoff, Mark J. Harvey, Consuelo E. Madere, Alexander C. Matina, Charles (Chip) B. Seidler, Robert D. Straus, Alan D. Willits and Mark W. Wong as nominees for election as directors at the Annual Meeting. Each of the nominees is currently a director of our company. For information concerning the nominees, please see "Information Regarding the Nominees" beginning on page 11 in this Proxy Statement.

Unless otherwise instructed, the proxy holders will vote the proxies received by them "FOR" each of the foregoing director nominees. If the nominees are unable or decline to serve as a director at the time of the Annual Meeting, the proxies will be voted for another nominee designated by the Board. We are not aware of any reason that a nominee would be unable or unwilling to serve as a director.

Each director is elected by a majority of the votes cast with respect to such director's election, meaning that to be elected, the director must receive more "for" votes than "against" votes. Broker non-votes and abstentions have no bearing on the outcome of the election.

At the Annual Meeting, we are asking our stockholders to approve the 2019 Plan. The 2019 Plan was approved by the Board in December 2018, subject to approval by our stockholders. If approved, the 2019 Plan will become the successor to and continuation of our Amended and Restated 2009 Equity Incentive Plan (the "2009 Plan").

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Why We Are Asking Our Stockholders to Approve the 2019 Plan

Currently, we maintain the 2009 Plan to grant equity awards, primarily in the form of stock options and restricted stock unit awards, to our employees, directors and consultants.

We are seeking stockholder approval of the 2019 Plan as a successor to and continuation of our 2009 Plan and to increase the number of shares available for the grant of stock options, restricted stock unit awards and other awards, which will enable us to have a competitive equity incentive program to compete with our peer group for key talent. If the 2019 Plan is approved by our stockholders, no additional awards will be granted under the 2009 Plan.

Approval of the 2019 Plan by our stockholders will allow us to grant stock options, restricted stock unit awards and other awards at levels determined appropriate by the Board or Compensation Committee. We continue to believe that equity compensation is an important component to recruit, retain and motivate key employees and effectively aligns employee compensation with stockholder interests. The Board believes that the 2019 Plan is in the best interest of stockholders and our company, as equity awards granted under the plan will help to attract, motivate and retain talented employees and non-employee directors, align employee and stockholder interests, link employee compensation with company performance and maintain a culture based on employee stock ownership.

If this proposal is approved by our stockholders, the 2019 Plan will become effective as of the date of the Annual Meeting and no additional awards will be granted under the 2009 Plan. In the event that our stockholders do not approve this proposal, the 2019 Plan will not become effective. The 2009 Plan will expire on October 30, 2019, and we will not have shares of our common stock available to issue equity-based incentive awards consistent with our compensation philosophy.

If this proposal is approved by our stockholders, then subject to adjustment for certain changes in our capitalization, the aggregate number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under the 2019 Plan will not exceed the sum of (i) 2,750,000 new shares, (ii) the number of unallocated shares remaining available for grant under the 2009 Plan as of the effective date of the 2019 Plan (which is equal to 272,682 shares as of December 4, 2018), and (iii) certain shares subject to outstanding stock awards granted under the 2009 Plan that may become available for issuance under the 2019 Plan as such shares become available from time to time (as further described below in "Summary of the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan - Stock Subject to the 2019 Plan").

Our Board reviewed the 2019 Plan and discussed in detail management's recommendations of the proposed terms. In determining the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2019 Plan, the Board Committee considered a number of factors, including:

• Historical Grant Practices. The Compensation Committee considered the historical amounts of equity awards we have granted in the past three years. In fiscal years 2016, 2017 and 2018, (a) the number of stock options granted was 203,500, 230,610 and 103,283, respectively, (b) the number of restricted stock units granted was 119,392, 77,275 and 78,642, respectively; and (c) the weighted common shares outstanding was 14,936,311, 17,718,057 and 22,481,491, respectively. 

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• Awards Outstanding Under Existing Grants. As of December 4, 2018, we had outstanding stock options exercisable (once completely vested) for an aggregate of 1,134,379 shares of common stock and restricted stock units covering 151,203 shares of common stock that have been granted under the 2009 Plan. This represents approximately 3.9% of the outstanding shares of our common stock (commonly referred to as our "overhang").

The purpose of the 2019 Plan approval is to provide us with a sufficient reserve of common stock to offer appropriate incentives to our executive officers, employees, directors and consultants. We actively compete for highly qualified people to work on our team, and our equity program is a key component of our strategy to attract and retain key individuals. In addition, as we continue to pursue our acquisition strategy, we expect that we will be adding additional employees. We believe that the share requirements of our equity program need to grow with our company.

The following is a summary of the principal features of the 2019 Plan and its operation. The summary is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the 2019 Plan that is attached as Appendix A to this proxy statement.

The 2019 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, and other share-based awards (collectively referred to in this proxy statement as equity awards). The 2019 Plan also provides the ability to grant performance equity awards and performance cash awards (together referred to in this proxy statement as performance awards), which enable our Compensation Committee to use performance criteria in establishing specific targets to be attained as a condition to the vesting of awards.

Incentive stock options granted under the 2019 Plan are intended to qualify as "incentive stock options" within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code (referred to in this proxy statement as the Code). Nonstatutory stock options granted under the 2019 Plan are not intended to qualify as incentive stock options under the Code. See "Federal Income Tax Information" for a discussion of the tax treatment of equity awards.

The 2019 Plan provides eligible employees, executive officers, directors and consultants with the opportunity to benefit from increases in the value of our common stock as an incentive to such individuals to exert maximum efforts toward our success, thereby aligning their interests with the interests of our stockholders.

The 2019 Plan provides that our Board has the authority to construe and interpret the 2019 Plan and to determine the persons to whom and the dates on which equity awards will be granted; the number of shares of common stock to be subject to each equity award; the time or times during the term of each equity award within which all or a portion of the award may be exercised; the exercise, purchase, or strike price of each equity award; the type of consideration permitted to exercise or purchase each equity award and other terms of the equity awards.

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Our Board has the authority to delegate some or all of the administration of the 2019 Plan to a committee or committees composed of members of our Board. A committee may consist solely of two or more directors, each of whom is a "non-employee director" within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act and an "independent director" for purposes of the rules of the applicable stock market or exchange on which the shares are quoted or traded, to the extent required by such rules. The 2019 Plan also permits delegation of administration of the plan to one or more executive officers with respect to grants to our employees, including the employees of our subsidiaries. Our Board has delegated to the Compensation Committee administration of the 2019 Plan. The Compensation Committee, as currently constituted, consists of three non-employee directors within the meaning of Section 16b-3 who also meet the requirements for independence under Rule 5605(d)(2) of the Nasdaq listing standards. As used herein, the term "plan administrator" refers to the Board or duly constituted committee, whichever is serving as the administrator of the 2019 Plan. Until changed by further action of the Board, that currently means the Compensation Committee of the Board.

General. The Plan provides that our employees, executive officers, directors and consultants are eligible to be granted awards. As of December 4, 2018, we have 137 employees, eight non-employee directors, and two consultants who are eligible to participate.

Incentive Stock Options. Incentive stock options may be granted under the 2019 Plan only to employees (including executive officers) of the Company and our affiliates. The aggregate maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of incentive stock options will be 5,500,000 shares of common stock, if this proposal is approved by the stockholders. No incentive stock option may be granted under the 2019 Plan to any person who, at the time of the grant, owns (or is deemed to own) stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of the Company or our affiliates, unless the exercise price of such stock option is at least 110% of the fair market value of the stock subject to the stock option on the date of grant and the term of the stock option does not exceed five years from the date of grant. In addition, the aggregate fair market value, determined on the date of grant, of the shares of common stock with respect to which incentive stock options are exercisable for the first time by a participant during any calendar year (under the 2019 Plan and any other equity plans of the Company and our affiliates) may not exceed $100,000. Any excess of such amount will be treated as nonstatutory stock options.

Nonstatutory Stock Options, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units and Other Awards. Nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and all other types of equity awards and performance awards authorized under the 2019 Plan may be granted to employees (including executive officers), directors and consultants of the Company and our affiliates.

Subject to adjustment for certain changes in our capitalization, the aggregate number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under the 2019 Plan will not exceed the sum of (i) 2,750,000 new shares, plus (ii) the number of unallocated shares remaining available for grant under the 2009 Plan as of the effective date of the 2019 Plan (which is equal to 272,682 shares as of December 4, 2018), plus (iii) shares subject to outstanding stock awards granted under the 2009 Plan that on or after the effective date of the 2019 Plan expire or terminate for any reason prior to exercise or settlement, are forfeited because of the failure to meet a contingency or condition required to vest such shares or otherwise return to us, or are reacquired, withheld or not issued to satisfy a tax withholding obligation in connection with an award or to satisfy the purchase price or exercise price of a stock award.

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The number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2019 Plan shall be reduced by one share for each share of common stock issued pursuant to a stock option, stock appreciation right, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards or other awards.

If any shares subject to an award are forfeited, an award expires or otherwise terminates without issuance of shares, or an award is settled for cash or otherwise does not result in the issuance of all or a portion of the shares subject to such award, the shares not issued under those awards, or the shares forfeited to or repurchased by us, become available for subsequent issuance under the 2019 Plan. Such returning shares will increase the number of shares available for issuance under the 2019 Plan by one share per share returned.

In the event that (i) any option or other award granted under the 2019 Plan is exercised through the tendering of shares (either actually or by attestation) or by the withholding of shares by us, or (ii) withholding tax liabilities arising from such option or other award are satisfied by the tendering of shares (either actually or by attestation) or by the withholding of shares by us, then the shares so tendered or withheld shall be available for issuance under the 2019 Plan.

We may grant stock options under the 2019 Plan pursuant to stock option agreements adopted by our Board or a duly authorized committee. The following is a description of the permissible terms of stock options under the 2019 Plan. Individual stock option agreements may be more restrictive as to any or all of the permissible terms described below.

Exercise Price. The exercise price of incentive stock options and nonstatutory stock options may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the stock subject to the stock option on the date of grant and, in some cases (see "Eligibility" above), may not be less than 110% of such fair market value.

Consideration. The stock option exercise price may, at the discretion of the plan administrator, be paid in cash or by check, pursuant to a broker-assisted cashless exercise, by delivery of other shares of our common stock, pursuant to a net exercise arrangement, or in any other method specified in a stock option agreement.

Vesting. Stock options granted under the 2019 Plan vest, or become exercisable, as determined by the plan administrator. Vesting typically occurs during the optionholder's continued service with us or an affiliate, whether such service is in the capacity of an employee, director or consultant (collectively referred to as service) and regardless of any change in the capacity of the optionee, or upon achievement of quantitative or qualitative goals determined by the plan administrator. Shares covered by different stock options may be subject to different vesting terms.

Term. Under the 2019 Plan, the maximum term of a stock option is ten years, except that in certain cases (see "Eligibility" above) the maximum term is five years.

Holding Period after Exercise. The 2019 Plan does not require any optionee who exercises stock options to hold the shares issued upon exercise for any period of time. Accordingly, holders of options are able to exercise options and sell the underlying stock concurrently, although in the case of the exercise of an incentive stock option, the tax benefits accruing to the holder thereof could be jeopardized if the applicable holding period for incentive stock options is not complied with.

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Termination of Service. Stock options generally terminate three months after termination of a participant's service unless:

• the stock option agreement by its terms specifically provides otherwise,
• termination is due to the participant's disability, in which case the stock option may be exercised (to the extent the stock option was exercisable at the time of the termination of service) at any time within 12 months of termination,
• the participant dies before the participant's service has terminated, or the participant dies within a specified period after termination of service, in which case the stock option may be exercised (to the extent the stock option was exercisable at the time of the participant's death) within 12 months of the participant's death by the person or persons to whom the rights to such stock option have passed, or
• the participant is terminated for cause (as defined under the 2019 Plan), in which case the stock option terminates immediately and will cease to be exercisable (whether vested or unvested).

The stock option term may be extended in the event that exercise of the stock option following termination of service is prohibited by applicable securities laws or if the sale of any shares received on exercise following termination of service would violate our insider trading policy. In no event, however, may a stock option be exercised beyond the expiration of its term.

Restrictions on Transfer. A participant generally may not transfer a stock option other than by will, by the laws of descent and distribution, or pursuant to a domestic relations order. During the lifetime of the participant, only the participant may exercise a stock option (except in instances pursuant to a domestic relations order). A participant may also designate a beneficiary who may exercise a stock option following the participant's death. No option may be transferred to any financial institution without prior stockholder approval.

We may grant restricted stock unit awards under the 2019 Plan pursuant to restricted stock unit award agreements adopted by our Board or a duly authorized committee. Restricted stock units represent the value of a fixed number of shares of our common stock on the date of grant.

Consideration. The plan administrator may grant restricted stock units in consideration for past or future services rendered to us or an affiliate, or any other form of legal consideration acceptable to the plan administrator.

Vesting. Restricted stock units vest at the rate or on the terms specified in the restricted stock unit award agreement as determined by the plan administrator. The 2019 Plan does not require that the holder of shares issued upon conversion of restricted stock units hold those converted shares for any period of time.

Settlement. Restricted stock units may be settled by the delivery of shares of our common stock, cash, or any combination as determined by the plan administrator. At the time of grant, the plan administrator may impose additional restrictions or conditions that delay the delivery of stock or cash subject to the restricted stock unit award after vesting.

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Termination of Service. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable award agreement, restricted stock units that have not vested will be forfeited upon the participant's termination of service.

We may grant restricted stock awards under the 2019 Plan pursuant to restricted stock award agreements adopted by our Board or a duly authorized committee. Restricted stock awards are shares of our common stock that may be subject to restrictions, such as vesting requirements.

Consideration. The plan administrator may grant restricted stock awards in consideration for past or future services rendered to us or an affiliate, or any other form of legal consideration acceptable to our Board.

Vesting. Shares of stock acquired under a restricted stock award may, but need not, be subject to a repurchase option in favor of us or forfeiture to us in accordance with a vesting schedule as determined by the plan administrator. The 2019 Plan does not require that the vested shares be held for any amount of time after vesting.

Termination of Service. Upon termination of a participant's service, we may repurchase or otherwise reacquire any forfeited shares of stock that have not vested as of such termination under the terms of the applicable restricted stock award.

We may grant stock appreciation rights under the 2019 Plan pursuant to stock appreciation rights agreements adopted by our Board or a duly authorized committee. A stock appreciation right is a right to receive the excess value over the strike price of a fixed number of shares. Individual stock appreciation right agreements may be more restrictive as to any or all of the permissible terms described below. Each stock appreciation right is denominated in shares of common stock equivalents but may be settled in cash.

Term. The maximum term of stock appreciation rights is ten years.

Strike Price. The strike price of stock appreciation rights may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the common stock equivalents subject to the stock appreciation rights on the date of grant.

Exercise. Upon exercise of a stock appreciation right, we will pay the participant an amount equal to the excess of the aggregate fair market value on the date of exercise of a number of common stock equivalents with respect to which the participant is exercising the stock appreciation right, over the strike price determined by the plan administrator on the date of grant. The appreciation distribution upon exercise of a stock appreciation right may be paid in cash, shares of our common stock, or any other form of consideration determined by the plan administrator.

Vesting. Stock appreciation rights vest and become exercisable at the rate specified in the stock appreciation right agreement as determined by the plan administrator.

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Termination of Service. Stock appreciation rights generally terminate three months after termination of a participant's service unless:

• the stock appreciation rights agreement by its terms specifically provides otherwise,
• termination is due to the participant's disability, in which case the stock appreciation right may be exercised (to the extent vested at the time of the termination of service) at any time within 12 months of termination,
• the participant dies before the participant's service has terminated, or within a specified period after termination of service, in which case the stock appreciation right may be exercised (to the extent vested at the time of the participant's death) within 12 months of the participant's death by the person or persons to whom the rights to such stock appreciation right have passed, or
• the participant is terminated for cause (as defined under the 2019 Plan), in which case the stock appreciation right terminates immediately and will cease to be exercisable (whether vested or unvested).

The term of a stock appreciation right may be extended in the event that exercise following termination of service is prohibited by applicable securities laws or if the sale of any shares received on exercise following termination of service would violate our insider trading policy. In no event may a stock appreciation right be exercised beyond the expiration of its term.

The plan administrator may grant other equity awards based in whole or in part by reference to the value of our common stock. Subject to the provisions of the 2019 Plan, the plan administrator has the authority to determine the persons to whom and the dates on which such other equity awards will be granted, the number of shares of common stock (or cash equivalents) to be subject to each award and other terms and conditions of such awards. Such awards may be granted either alone or in addition to other equity awards granted under the 2019 Plan.

General. The Board may grant performance equity awards and performance cash awards.

Performance Goals. The Compensation Committee has the authority to structure one or more such awards so that stock or cash will be issued or paid pursuant to the award only upon the achievement of certain pre-established performance goals. Performance goals for awards granted under the 2019 Plan may be based on any one of, or combination of, the following criteria or such other criteria as may later be determined by the Compensation Committee: (i) net sales; (ii) revenue; (iii) revenue growth or product revenue growth; (iv) operating income (before or after taxes); (v) pre- or after-tax income (before or after allocation of corporate overhead and bonus); earnings per share; net income (before or after taxes); (vi) return on equity; (vii) total shareholder return; (viii) return on assets or net assets; (ix) appreciation in and/or maintenance of the price of the shares or any other publicly-traded securities of the Company; (x) market share; gross profits; (xi) earnings (including earnings before taxes, earnings before interest and taxes or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization); (xii) economic value-added models or equivalent metrics; (xiii) comparisons with various stock market indices; (xiv) reductions in costs; (xv) cash flow or cash flow per share (before or after dividends); (xvi) return on capital (including return on total capital or return on invested capital); (xvii) cash flow return on investment;

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(xviii) improvement in or attainment of expense levels or working capital levels; (xiv) operating margins, gross margins or cash margin; (xx) year-end cash; (xxi) debt reduction; (xxii) stockholder equity; (xxiii) financing and other capital raising transactions (including sales of the Company's equity or debt securities); (xxiv) factoring transactions; sales or licenses of the Company's assets, including its intellectual property, whether in a particular jurisdiction or territory or globally; or through partnering transactions; (xxv) implementation, completion or attainment of measurable objectives with respect to research, development, manufacturing, commercialization, products or projects, production volume levels, acquisitions and divestitures and recruiting and maintaining personnel; and (xxxi) other measures of performance selected by the Compensation Committee.

Performance goals may be based solely by reference to the Company's performance or the performance of a Subsidiary, division, business segment or business unit of the Company, or based upon the relative performance of other companies or upon comparisons of any of the indicators of performance relative to other companies. The Compensation Committee may also exclude charges related to an event or occurrence which the Compensation Committee determines should appropriately be excluded, including (i) restructuring and/or other nonrecurring charges (including but not limited to the effect of tax or legal settlements); (ii) exchange rate effects, as applicable, for non-United States dollar denominated net sales and operating earnings; (iii) the effects of changes to generally accepted accounting standards required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board; (iv) to exclude the effects of any statutory adjustments to corporate tax rates; (v) stock-based compensation expense determined under generally accepted accounting principles; (vi) to exclude the effects of any items that are unusual in nature or occur infrequently as determined under GAAP; (vii) a response to, or in anticipation of, any unusual or extraordinary corporate item, transaction, event or development; (viii) a response to, or in anticipation of, changes in applicable laws, regulations, accounting principles, or business conditions; (ix) the dilutive effects of acquisitions or joint ventures; (x) the assumption that any business divested by the Company achieved performance objectives at targeted levels during the balance of a performance period following such divestiture; (xi) the effect of any change in the outstanding shares of our common stock by reason of any stock dividend or split, stock repurchase, reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination or exchange of shares or other similar corporate change, or any distributions to common shareholders other than regular cash dividends; (xii) the reflection of a corporate transaction, such as a merger, consolidation, separation (including a spinoff or other distribution of stock or property by a corporation), or reorganization (whether or not such reorganization comes within the definition of such term in Section 368 of the Code); (xiii) the reflection of any partial or complete corporate liquidation; (xiv) the effect of in-process research and development expenses; (xv) the income tax effect of non-GAAP pre-tax adjustments from the provision for income taxes; and (xvi) to make other appropriate adjustments selected by the Compensation Committee.

In the event any change is made to the outstanding shares of our common stock without receipt of consideration (whether through a stock split, reverse stock split or other changes in the capital structure), appropriate adjustments will be made to the class of securities issuable under the 2019 Plan, the maximum number of securities issuable under the 2019 Plan, the incentive stock option limitation, and the number, class and price per share under outstanding equity awards under the 2019 Plan.

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Corporate Transactions

Unless otherwise provided in a written agreement between us or an affiliate and a participant, or unless otherwise expressly provided by our Board or a duly authorized committee at the time of grant of an equity award, in the event of a corporate transaction, outstanding equity awards under the 2019 Plan may be assumed, continued or substituted by any surviving or acquiring entity (or its parent company). If the surviving or acquiring entity (or its parent company) elects not to assume, continue or substitute such equity awards, then:

• with respect to any such equity awards that are held by individuals then performing services for us or our affiliates, the vesting and exercisability provisions of such equity awards will be accelerated in full and such awards will be terminated if not exercised prior to the effective date of the corporate transaction and any reacquisition or repurchase rights will lapse (contingent upon the effectiveness of the corporate transaction);
• all other outstanding equity awards will be terminated if not exercised prior to the effective date of the corporate transaction, provided, however, that any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company with respect to such awards shall not terminate and may continue to be exercised notwithstanding the corporate transaction; and
• no vested restricted stock unit award will terminate without being settled by delivery of shares of common stock, their cash equivalent or in any other form of consideration, as determined by the Board, prior to the effectiveness of the corporate transaction.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event an award will terminate if not exercised prior to the effective time of a corporate transaction, the Board may provide, in its sole discretion, that the holder of such award may not exercise such award but will receive a payment, in such form as may be determined by the Board, equal in value to the excess, if any, of (i) the value of the property the holder of the award would have received upon the exercise of the award immediately prior to the effective time of the corporate transaction, over (ii) any exercise price payable by such holder in connection with such exercise.

A corporate transaction shall generally mean the occurrence, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:

• a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and our subsidiaries;
• a sale or other disposition of more than 50% of the Company's outstanding securities;
• the consummation of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction in which the Company is not the surviving corporation, or
• the consummation of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction in which the Company is the surviving corporation, but shares of our outstanding common stock are converted into other property by virtue of the corporate transaction.

Outstanding awards under the 2019 Plan may be subject to additional acceleration of vesting and exercisability upon or after a change in control as may be provided in the participant's award agreement or in any other written agreement with us or one of our affiliates, but in the absence of such provision, no such acceleration will automatically occur.

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A change in control shall generally mean the occurrence, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:

• a person, entity or group acquires, directly or indirectly, our securities representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of our then outstanding securities, other than by virtue of a merger, consolidation, or similar transaction;
• there is consummated a merger, consolidation, or similar transaction and, immediately after the consummation of such transaction, our stockholders immediately prior thereto do not own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the combined outstanding voting power of the surviving entity or the parent of the surviving entity in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of our outstanding voting securities immediately prior to such transaction;
• our stockholders approve or the Board approves a plan of complete dissolution or liquidation of the Company, or a complete dissolution or liquidation of the Company shall otherwise occur;
• there is consummated a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of our consolidated assets, other than a sale or other disposition to an entity in which more than 50% of the entity's combined voting power is owned by our stockholders in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of our outstanding voting securities immediately prior to such sale or other disposition; or
• a majority of our Board becomes comprised of individuals whose nomination, appointment, or election was not approved by a majority of the Board members or their approved successors.

Our Board may suspend or terminate the 2019 Plan without stockholder approval or ratification at any time. No incentive stock option will be granted after the 10th anniversary of the date the 2019 Plan was adopted by the Board. Our Board may amend or modify the 2019 Plan at any time, subject to any required stockholder approval. No amendments to, or termination of, the 2019 Plan shall materially impair the rights of a participant under any award previously granted without such participant's consent.

The following is a summary of the principal United States federal income taxation consequences to participants and the Company with respect to participation in the 2019 Plan. This summary is not intended to be exhaustive, and does not discuss the income tax laws of any city, state or foreign jurisdiction in which a participant may reside.

Incentive stock options granted under the 2019 Plan are intended to qualify for the favorable federal income tax treatment accorded "incentive stock options" under the Code. There generally are no federal ordinary income tax consequences to the participant or us by reason of the grant or exercise of an incentive stock option. However, the exercise of an incentive stock option may increase the participant's alternative minimum tax liability, if any.

The difference between the exercise price and fair market value of the incentive stock option shares on the date of exercise is an adjustment to income for purposes of the alternative minimum tax. Alternative minimum taxable income is determined by adjusting regular taxable income for certain items, increasing that income by certain tax preference items and reducing this amount by the applicable exemption amount.

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If a participant holds stock acquired through exercise of an incentive stock option for more than two years from the date on which the stock option was granted and more than one year after the date the stock option was exercised for those shares, any gain or loss on a disposition of those shares (referred to in this proxy statement as a qualifying disposition) will be a long-term capital gain or loss. Upon such a qualifying disposition, we will not be entitled to any income tax deduction.

Generally, if the participant disposes of the stock before the expiration of either of those holding periods (referred to in this proxy statement as a disqualifying disposition), then at the time of disposition the participant will realize taxable ordinary income equal to the lesser of (a) the excess of the stock's fair market value on the date of exercise over the exercise price, or (b) the participant's actual gain, if any, on the purchase and sale. The participant's additional gain or any loss upon the disqualifying disposition will be a capital gain or loss, which will be long-term or short-term depending on whether the stock was held for more than one year after exercise.

To the extent the participant recognizes ordinary income by reason of a disqualifying disposition, generally we will be entitled (subject to the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code and the satisfaction of a tax reporting obligation) to a corresponding income tax deduction in the tax year in which the disqualifying disposition occurs.

No taxable income is recognized by a participant upon the grant of a nonstatutory stock option. Upon exercise of a nonstatutory stock option, the participant will recognize ordinary income equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the purchased shares on the exercise date over the exercise price paid for those shares. Generally, we will be entitled (subject to the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code and the satisfaction of a tax reporting obligation) to an income tax deduction in the tax year in which such ordinary income is recognized by the participant. We will be required to satisfy certain tax withholding requirements applicable to such income.

Upon disposition of the stock, the participant will recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the selling price and the sum of the amount paid for such stock plus any amount recognized as ordinary income upon acquisition of the stock. Such gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on whether the stock was held for more than one year after exercise.

No taxable income is recognized upon receipt of a restricted stock unit award. The participant will generally recognize ordinary income in the year in which the shares subject to that unit are actually vested and issued to the participant in an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares on the date of issuance. The participant and the Company will be required to satisfy certain tax withholding requirements applicable to such income. We will be entitled (subject to the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code and the satisfaction of a tax reporting obligation) to an income tax deduction equal to the amount of ordinary income recognized by the participant at the time the shares are issued. In general, the deduction will be allowed for the taxable year in which such ordinary income is recognized by the participant.

Upon receipt of a restricted stock award, the participant will recognize ordinary income equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the shares on the date of issuance over the purchase price, if any, paid for those shares. We will be entitled (subject to the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code and the satisfaction of a tax reporting obligation) to a corresponding income tax deduction in the year in which such ordinary income is recognized by the participant.

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However, if the shares issued upon the grant of a restricted stock award are unvested and subject to repurchase by us in the event of the participant's termination of service prior to vesting in those shares, the participant will not recognize any taxable income at the time of issuance, but will have to report as ordinary income, as and when our repurchase right lapses, an amount equal to the excess of (a) the fair market value of the shares on the date the repurchase right lapses, over (b) the purchase price, if any, paid for the shares. The participant may, however, elect under Section 83(b) of the Code to include as ordinary income in the year of issuance an amount equal to the excess of (a) the fair market value of the shares on the date of issuance, over (b) the purchase price, if any, paid for such shares. If the Section 83(b) election is made, the participant will not recognize any additional income as and when the repurchase right lapses. The participant and the Company will be required to satisfy certain tax withholding requirements applicable to such income. The Company will be entitled to an income tax deduction equal to the amount of ordinary income recognized by the participant at the time the shares are issued. In general, the deduction will be allowed for the taxable year in which such ordinary income is recognized by the participant.

Upon disposition of the stock acquired upon the receipt of a restricted stock award, the participant will recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the selling price and the sum of the amount paid for such stock plus any amount recognized as ordinary income upon issuance (or vesting) of the stock. Such gain or loss will be long-term or short-term depending on whether the stock was held for more than one year.

No taxable income is realized upon the receipt of a stock appreciation right. Upon exercise of the stock appreciation right, the fair market value of the shares (or cash in lieu of shares) received is recognized as ordinary income to the participant in the year of such exercise. Generally, with respect to employees, we are required to withhold from the payment made on exercise of the stock appreciation right or from regular wages or supplemental wage payments an amount based on the ordinary income recognized. Generally, we will be entitled (subject to the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code and the satisfaction of a tax reporting obligation) to an income tax deduction in the year in which such ordinary income is recognized by the participant.

Section 162(m) of the Code disallows a deduction to any publicly held corporation and its affiliates for certain compensation paid to "covered employees" in a taxable year to the extent that compensation paid to a covered employee exceeds $1 million. As a result, compensation (including compensation pursuant to awards granted under the 2019 Plan) paid to any of our "covered employees" under Section 162(m) of the Code in excess of $1 million per taxable year generally will not be deductible.

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New Plan Benefits

Except with respect to awards shown in the table below, future awards under the 2019 Plan are subject to the discretion of the Board or the Compensation Committee. Therefore, we cannot determine future benefits for any other awards under the 2019 Plan at this time.