Asserts MaxQ® technology patent rights
Defendants agree to terminate production and sales of ArkPlus tall fescue.

AgResearch Limited and Pennington Seed Inc., a subsidiary of Central Garden and Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT), announced in the U.S. today a finalized agreement with three of four defendant parties named in their patent lawsuit filed August 25, 2004 in federal court in the western district of Missouri, USA.

The three named defendants are Produce Exchange No. 299, Allied Seed L.L.C., and FFR Cooperative.

The lawsuit asserted Pennington Seed and AgResearch’s patent rights to the MaxQ® technology.

As part of settlement, the three named defendant parties agreed to terminate production, distribution and sales of ArkPlus tall fescue and vowed never to sell other products that infringe on the plaintiffs’ intellectual property rights.

MaxQ® is a patented technology uniting a revolutionary non-toxic endophyte with high quality pasture grass.

The technology enables landowners and livestock producers to increase profits per acre through healthier and higher weight-gain livestock.

MaxQ® eliminates fescue toxicosis, a sickness that can plague cattle, horses and other fescue-grazing livestock.

The MaxQ® technology is backed by a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee in the U.S.

Pennington Seed and AgResearch, the technology’s original founder, have established an education program designed to fully assist farmers who wish to implement the MaxQ® technology into their fields.

This technology will be marketed in Australia and New Zealand under the MaxP® brand.

Pennington Seed Inc. is a leading U.S. manufacturer and distributor of lawn, garden, turf care, forage grasses, wildlife and bird food products. Pennington Seed is the largest packager of grass seed in the world. Based in Madison, Georgia, Pennington Seed was founded in 1945 by Brooks Pennington Sr. Pennington Seed is today owned by Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT).