AgriBioTech announced today that it has retained Kalt, Rosen Chase & Co. LLC of San Francisco to plan and help implement an investor relations program that will increase the company's visibility within the investment community and expand communications with both existing and prospective institutional and individual investors

KRC, which has served a wide range of NYSE, Amex and NASDAQ companies for the past 17 years, will identify and arrange meetings for management with prospective new investors and sell-side analysts, disseminate news concerning ABT's financial and operating developments, and increase two-way communications with shareholders. The firm, which is one of the leading investor relations companies headquartered in the West, has conducted similar nationwide programs for micro- and midcap companies--including current or past turnaround situations such as Cylink Corporation, Iomega Corporation, and ESS Technologies. KRC also has represented a range of technology and biotechnology companies, including Landec Corporation, which is developing seed coatings that increase crop yields and regulate seed germination, and Incyte Pharmaceuticals, a leading provider of genomic technologies designed to aid in the understanding of the molecular basis of disease.

"As our own restructuring and turnaround continue, ABT's management recognizes the importance of keeping the investment community in general and our investors in particular informed of our plans and progress. At times there will be developments either of a competitive nature or not yet ripe enough for disclosure, but we certainly can and will begin doing more to keep investors and prospective investors informed,'' said Richard Budd, ABT chairman and chief executive officer.

Howard Kalt, the KRC principal who will manage his firm's day-to-day activities for ABT, has more than 35 years of investor relations experience with both consulting firms and corporations in Chicago and San Francisco. "A real company, with a diverse customer base around the country generating a significant revenue stream, AgriBioTech is as exciting a turnaround story as any our firm has worked with. As the world's sixth-largest seed producer and largest forage and cool-season turfgrass seed company, ABT is virtually consolidating an entire industry. Management is moving forward with the integration of nearly three dozen acquired companies into customer-focused business units, working on completing a financing plan that will support its long-term business goals, and exploiting what is already a leadership position in the research and development of new seed products,'' said Kalt.

AgriBioTech, Inc. is a vertically integrated, full service seed company specializing in the forage and turfgrass seed sector, complete with research and development of proprietary seed varieties, seed processing plants, and a national and international distribution and sales network. ABT's vision is to lead the turf and forage seed industry in discovering its value potential.

Company news release
N2081