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 at its home office in Laurel, Mississippi. In the formal business conducted at the meeting, stockholders elected five directors to three-year terms expiring at the 2013 annual meeting. Management also reported on the Company’s performance during fiscal 2009. Elected to three-year terms were Fred Banks, Jr., Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP; Toni D. Cooley, President of Systems Electro Coating, LLC; Robert C. Khayat, Retired Chancellor of the University of Mississippi; Dianne Mooney, Retired Senior Vice President, Southern Living at Home and Gail Jones Pittman, President, Gail Pittman, Inc.

Other directors, whose terms continue to future years, include: John H. Baker,III, John Bierbusse, Lampkin Butts, Mike Cockrell, Beverly Wade Hogan, Phil Livingston, Charles Ritter, Rowan Taylor and Joe Sanderson. In other action at the annual meeting, stockholders ratified the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent auditors for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2010. Ernst & Young has served as the independent auditors for Sanderson Farms since the Company went public in 1987.

In his remarks to stockholders concerning the Company’s operations, Joe F. Sanderson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms, said, “Fiscal 2009 was a successful year for Sanderson Farms. In spite of the economic downturn and its profound impact on both consumers and businesses, we returned to profitability, we broke ground on our new poultry complex in North Carolina, and we strengthened our balance sheet. Our financial and operating performance for the year reflects our proven ability to execute and effectively manage our operations regardless of market conditions.

“Our results for fiscal 2009 include record sales of over $1.789 billion, exceeding the previous year’s record sales of $1.724 billion,” added Sanderson. “Our revenue growth reflects the additional production from our Waco, Texas, facility, offset by production cuts earlier in the year, and improved overall chicken markets. Consumer demand for chicken products at the retail level was relatively stable throughout the year, but demand from food service customers remained weak, reflecting the considerable slowdown in restaurant traffic across the country. Our operations performed well in our industry as we processed over 397.0 million chickens, or 2.43 billion dressed pounds, in fiscal 2009 compared with 2.44 billion pounds during fiscal 2008. We also benefitted from a ten percent reduction in feed costs per processed pound of chicken in fiscal 2009, contributing to the margin improvement in our business.”

Sanderson Farms, Inc. is engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh and frozen chicken and other prepared food items. Its shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol SAFM.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current views and assumptions. Actual results and events may differ. For a discussion of these matters, please refer to the "Cautionary Statement Regarding Risks and Uncertainties That May Affect Future Performance" in Item 7 of the Company's 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K.