Scott, Mississippi
January 3, 2003

Delta and Pine Land Company (NYSE:DLP) ("D&PL"), a leading commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed, today announced results for its first quarter ended November 30, 2002. Due to the seasonal nature of the seed business, the Company typically incurs losses in its first and fourth fiscal quarters.

The Company reported a net loss of $0.16 per share for its first quarter, excluding legal expenses related to the Monsanto/Pharmacia litigation and special charges, compared to a net loss of $0.12 per share posted in the same period in the prior year. In the first quarter of the prior year, there were no special charges recorded and legal expenses related to the litigation were minimal. In the current quarter, the net loss after legal expenses related to the Monsanto/Pharmacia litigation and special charges was $0.20 per share. For the current quarter, legal expenses related to the litigation were $0.03 per share and special charges were $0.01 per share related to costs associated with the closing of a Company facility in Centre, Alabama and a reduction in workforce at a joint venture in China.

Revenues were $5.6 million in the 2003 first quarter compared to $8.3 million recorded in the same period last year. The revenue decline was primarily attributable to decreased revenues from international operations. International revenues were negatively impacted by a shift in expected export shipments from the first quarter to the second quarter, currency devaluation in Brazil and poor economic conditions in Argentina.

Tom Jagodinski, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Although sales in the first quarter were less than expected, I am optimistic about the outlook for fiscal 2003. This is based on the strong performance of our products in 2002, the pending launch in 2003 of new products at higher prices and a strengthening of cotton commodity prices which may result in increased cotton acreage in certain key markets. With respect to our strategic plans, we continue to test and evaluate third party traits and we are rapidly developing new elite cotton varieties containing those traits. In addition, our DeltaMax Cotton joint venture has taken steps in its trait development programs and we are underway with plant transformation."

Agreement with Dow AgroSciences

The Company also announced a collaboration agreement with Dow AgroSciences LLC ("DAS") under which D&PL will develop, test and evaluate elite cotton varieties containing DAS insect resistance traits. When appropriate testing indicates that DAS technology combined with D&PL germplasm is competitive and when a commercialization agreement is reached, D&PL elite varieties containing DAS technology may be available for introduction to growers in 2004. DAS has previously announced it
expects to introduce its insect resistance traits in the U.S. market in 2004 pending regulatory approval.

Stock Repurchase Plan

The Company also announced that during the quarter ended November 30, 2002, it purchased 81,400 shares of the Company's common stock at an aggregate purchase price of $1.5 million.

2003 Earnings Outlook

For the fiscal year 2003, the Company expects to report sales in the range of $275 million to $290 million. Earnings per diluted share, excluding Monsanto/Pharmacia litigation expenses and special charges, is expected to range from $0.97 to $1.05 assuming flat U.S. acreage, the successful launch of new varieties and maintaining U.S. market share. The Company expects to incur expenses of between $8 to $10 million, or $0.13 to $0.16 per diluted share, related to the suit against Pharmacia (NYSE: PHA) and Monsanto (NYSE: MON) which is scheduled for trial in January 2004. Earnings are significantly affected by planted acreage in the U.S. At present market share levels, the Company estimates earnings per diluted share could be affected by $0.05 for each 500,000 acre change in U.S. planted acreage. The 2003 guidance assumes that 2003 planted cotton acreage in the U.S. will be unchanged from 2002 and range from 14 million to 14.5 million acres, as reported by the USDA, which is down from 15.8 million acres in 2001.

Delta and Pine Land Company is a leading commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed. Headquartered in Scott, Mississippi, with multiple offices in eight states and facilities in several foreign countries, D&PL also breeds, produces and markets soybean planting seed in the U.S. where it sells cotton seed.