Sanderson Farms, Inc. Holds Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) announced today that it held its annual meeting of stockholders this morning in a virtual format. In the formal business conducted at the meeting, stockholders re-elected four Class B directors for terms expiring at the 2024 annual meeting. Management also reported on the Company’s performance during fiscal 2020 and provided an outlook for fiscal 2021. Re-elected to three-year terms were John Bierbusse, Retired Vice President and Manager of Research Administration, A.G. Edwards; Mike Cockrell, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer of Sanderson Farms, Inc.; Edith Kelly-Green, Partner, The KGR Group; and Suzanne T. Mestayer, Owner and Managing Principal, ThirtyNorth Investments, LLC.

Other directors, whose terms continue to future years, are: Fred L. Banks, Jr., David Barksdale, Lampkin Butts, Toni D. Cooley, Beverly W. Hogan, Phil K. Livingston, Sonia Perez, Gail Jones Pittman and Joe F. Sanderson, Jr.

In other action at the annual meeting, stockholders approved the following items of business: in a non-binding advisory vote, the compensation of the Company’s Named Executive Officers and the ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent auditors for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2021. Stockholders rejected a stockholder proposal to request that the Board of Directors report on the Company’s human rights due diligence process.

Earlier in his remarks to stockholders concerning the Company’s operations, Sanderson said, “Without question, fiscal 2020 was a year like no other for our company, our nation, and the entire world as we faced the extraordinary challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, social and racial unrest, a global recession, and ongoing poultry market volatility. We have faced these challenges, however, with the same determination and resilience instilled in us by our founders in 1947. Over the past year, our board of directors and executive management team have risen to the challenge to protect both the interests of our many stakeholders and the long-term value of Sanderson Farms. We believe our core value of respect for the rights and dignity of every human being; our conservative financial management and our best-in-class operational efficiency have provided a firm foundation to support our business under extraordinary conditions.