Ridley Inc. Applies for Leave to Appeal Quebec Court Ruling

Market Wire, June, 2006

Ridley Inc. ( www.ridleyinc.com )(TSX: RCL) announced today that it has applied to the Quebec Court of Appeal for leave to appeal the June 2, 2006 refusal of the Quebec Superior Court to stay the proposed class action lawsuit against Ridley and the Government of Canada in the province of Quebec.

Ridley is seeking a stay of the proposed Quebec action pending determinations of law by the Ontario Court of Appeals in the parallel lawsuit commenced in Ontario. Nonetheless, the Quebec Superior Court ruled earlier this month that the Quebec proceedings should continue independently to the class authorization stage, notwithstanding the progress of the Ontario action.

Ridley believes the June 2 ruling was in error and raises important public interest issues and novel points of law regarding the judicial management of multi-jurisdictional, quasi-identical class actions. Motions by Ridley and the Government of Canada seeking leave to appeal that ruling were heard in the Court of Appeal for the District of Montreal on June 22. The Court has reserved its decision on both applications for leave to appeal.

As previously disclosed, four lawsuits were commenced in April 2005 against Ridley Inc and the Government of Canada in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. The lawsuits each seek damages, including punitive damages, for losses allegedly incurred by Canadian cattle farmers as a result of international bans on the importation of Canadian beef and cattle following the May 2003 announcement of a bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) diagnosis in an Alberta cow.

The actions in Ontario and Quebec are still at an early stage, and the actions in Saskatchewan and Alberta are in abeyance. There has been no decision made on the merits of the actions in any province, and the actions have not yet been certified or authorized to proceed to trial in any province.

Early dismissal of the lawsuits remains Ridley's primary goal and the Company will continue to fully defend against the claims as long as the case continues

Ridley Inc., headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota and Winnipeg, Manitoba, is one of North America's leading commercial animal nutrition companies. Ridley manufactures and/or distributes a full range of animal nutrition products under a number of highly regarded trade names.

Contacts: RIDLEY Inc. Steven J. VanRoekel President & CEO (507) 388-9618