Ames, Iowa
January 28, 2002

Becker Underwood, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of bio-agronomic products and specialty colorants, announces that Dr. Peter Innes has been promoted to the position of company President. Dr. Innes was formerly Group Managing Director of the MicroBio Group Ltd., the Becker
Underwood European subsidiary. Roger Underwood will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer for the company.

Dr. Innes will continue to manage MicroBio and European and Canadian operations from Becker Underwood's headquarters in Ames, Iowa, and will assume additional operational duties over the next 6-8 months. His rise in the company reflects Becker Underwood's growing involvement in the
discovery, scale-up fermentation, and formulation of a variety of products based on naturally occurring microorganisms that help maximize yield and protect plants from pests and disease.

"Peter Innes has a solid record of managing the development of innovative new science, as well as daily operations," says Underwood, who was formerly Becker Underwood President. "His leadership will help us merge our subsidiaries into a singular operating company and ensure our customers
remain the focal point of value." Innes commented: "Becker Underwood is committed to its market led drive for technical innovation. I am very much looking forward to the challenge of being part of a team delivering new products to our customers, and value to our shareholders." 

Dr. Innes has over 22 years of experience in the biotechnology industry. His early career included planning and managing R&D programs, and intellectual property protection and licensing. He became Managing Director of MicroBio Group Ltd. in 1991 and holds a PhD from Imperial College in London.

In the role of Chief Executive Officer, Roger Underwood will focus on acquisitions, strategic initiatives and business relationships. As a founding co-owner of the company, Roger's leadership and rapport with market-leading customers and companies are widely recognized. Roger is a 1980 graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Ag Business.

Under Roger's direction, Becker Underwood acquired MicroBio in September 2000. Since that time, the company has also acquired a further line of Rhizobium inoculants for pulse crops, and reinforced its leadership in the mulch and aggregates market with the purchase of a specialty colorant competitor. Company plants are currently located in Ames, Iowa; Saskatoon, Canada; and Littlehampton, England. The company employs 80 in the United States, 60 in Canada and 23 in Europe.

Founded in 1982 in Ames, Iowa, Becker Underwood is an international developer of products for the mulch, seed, agriculture, turf, and green house markets with production facilities in Ames; Saskatoon, Canada; and Littlehampton, England. The company manufactures and markets a variety of specialty colorants and bio-agronomic products for turf management, agriculture, seed treatment, wood recycling, aquaculture, vegetation management, forestry, and structural pest control industries.