SENECA FOODS CORPORATION (theSeneca Foods Corporation (“Seneca” or the “Company”) is one of North America'swas founded in 1949 and has evolved through internal growth and strategic acquisitions into a leading providersprovider of packaged fruits and vegetables, with 26 main facilities located throughout the United States. The Company’s product offerings include canned, frozen and bottled produce and snack chips and its productsfacilities are sold under private label as well as national and regional brands that the Company owns or licenses, including Seneca®, Libby’s®, Aunt Nellie’s®, READ®, Green Valley® and CherryMan®.

The Company was founded in 1949Company’s business strategies are designed to grow its market share and has evolved through internal growthenhance sales and strategic acquisitions. The Company pursues acquisitions when they are strategic and financially additive and meet its overall business needs. In 73 years of operationmargins. These strategies include: 1) expand the Company has made over 50 strategic acquisitions, investments and alliances that have expanded itsCompany’s leadership in the packaged fruit and vegetable industry. Most recently, during 2021,industry; 2) provide low-cost, high-quality vegetable products to consumers through the Company acquired a facility in Berlin, Wisconsin to aid its frozen business by expanding freezing capability and adding frozen celery production to the core fruit and vegetable business. The Company also engages in strategic saleselimination of its assetscosts from time to time, as it makes financial sense to do so. During 2021, the Company completed the sale of its prepared foods business as the nature of that business was not central to the Company’s primary business and the sale allowed for the continued focussupply chain and investment in state-of-the-art production and logistical technology; 3) focus on growth opportunities to capitalize on higher expected returns; and 4) pursue strategic acquisitions that leverage the Company’s core fruit and vegetable business.competencies.

The Company’s Internet address is www.senecafoods.com. The Company’s annual report on Form 10-K, the Company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available on the Company’s web site, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. All such filings on the Company’s web site are available free of charge. Information on our website is not part of the Annual Reportannual report on Form 10-K.

In addition, the Company's website includes items related to corporate governance matters, including charters of various committees of the Board of Directors and the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Company intends to disclose on its website any amendment to or waiver of any provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that would otherwise be required to be disclosed under the rules of the SEC and NASDAQ.

The Company’s food packaging plants are located in major vegetable producing states. Vegetableshigh-quality products are primarily obtainedsourced from approximately 1,400 American farms. The Company purchases other raw materials, including steel, ingredients and packaging materials from commodity processors, steel producers and packaging suppliers. Raw materials and other input costs, such as labor, fuel, utilities and transportation, are subject to fluctuations in price attributable to a number of factors. Fluctuations in commodity prices can lead to retail price volatility and can influence consumer and trade buying patterns. The cost of raw materials, fuel, labor, distribution and other costs related to our operations can increase from time to time significantly and unexpectedly.

The Company continues to experience material cost inflation for many of its raw materials and other input costs attributable to a number of factors, including but not limited to, supply chain disruptions (including raw material shortages), labor shortages, and the war in Ukraine. While the Company has no direct exposure to Russia and Ukraine, it has experienced increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the global economy. The Company attempts to manage cost inflation risks by locking in prices through short-term supply contracts, with independent growers.advance grower purchase agreements, and by implementing cost saving measures. The Company also attempts to offset rising input costs by raising sales prices to its customers. However, increases in the prices the Company charges its customers may lag behind rising input costs. Competitive pressures also may limit the Company’s ability to quickly raise prices in response to rising costs. To the extent the Company is unable to avoid or offset any present or future cost increases its operating results could be materially adversely affected.

The Company's most significant brand name, Libby's®, is held pursuant to a trademark license granted to the Company in March 1982 and renewable by the Company every 10 years for an aggregate period expiring in March 2081. The original licensor was Libby, McNeill & Libby, Inc., then an indirect subsidiary of Nestlé, S. A. ("Nestlé") and the license was granted in connection with the Company's purchase of certain of the licensor's canned vegetable operations in the United States. Corlib Brands Management, LTD acquired the license from Nestlé during 2006. The license is limited to vegetables which are shelf-stable, frozen, and thermally packaged, and includes the Company's major vegetable varieties – corn, peas and green beans – as well as certain other thermally packaged vegetable varieties and sauerkraut.

The Company is required to pay an annual royalty to Corlib Brands, now known as Libby's Brand Holding, Ltd., who may terminate the license for non-payment of royalty, use of the trademark in sales outside the licensed territory, failure to achieve a minimum level of sales under the licensed trademark during any calendar year or a material breach or default by the Company under the agreement (which is not cured within the specified cure period). With the purchase of Signature Fruit Company, LLC, which also uses the Libby’s® brand name, the Company re-negotiated the license agreement and created a new, combined agreement based on Libby’s® revenue dollars for fruits, vegetables, and dry beans. During 2021, the Company and Libby’s Brand Holding, Ltd. renegotiated again to remove fruit from the license agreement. A total of $114,000$0.1 million was paid as a royalty fee for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.2023.

While individual vegetables have seasonal cycles of peak production and sales, the different cycles are somewhat offsetting. Minimal food packaging occurs in the Company's last fiscal quarter ending March 31, which is the optimal time for maintenance, repairs and equipment changes in its packaging plants. The supply of commodities, current pricing, and expected new crop quantity and quality affect the timing and amount of the Company’s sales and earnings. When the seasonal harvesting periods of the Company's major vegetables are newly completed, inventories for these packaged vegetables are at their highest levels. For peas, the peak inventory time is mid-summer and for corn and green beans, the Company's highest volume vegetable,vegetables, the peak inventory is in mid-autumn. The seasonal nature of the Company’s production cycle results in inventory and accounts payable reaching their lowest point late in the fourth quarter/early in the first quarter prior to the new seasonal pack commencing. As the seasonal pack progresses, these components of working capital both increase until the pack is complete.

These seasonal fluctuations are illustrated in the following table, which presents certain unaudited quarterly financial information for the periods indicated:indicated (in thousands):

Competition in the packaged food businessindustry is substantial with brand recognition and promotion, quality, service, and pricing being the major determinants in the Company’s relative market position. The Company believes that it is a major producer of canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, and jarred fruit but some producers of canned, frozen and other forms of vegetablethese products have sales which exceed the Company's sales. The Company is aware of at least 13 competitors in the U.S. packaged fruit and vegetable industry, many of which are privately held companies.

The Company is subject to extensive regulations in the past year, approximately 10%United States by federal, state and local government authorities. In the United States, the federal agencies governing the manufacture, marketing and distribution of our products include, among others, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the United States Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”), the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). Under various statutes, these agencies prescribe and establish, among other things, the requirements and standards for quality, safety and representation of the Company’s packaged foods, excluding cherry products were sold under its own brands, or licensed trademarks, including Seneca®, Libby's®, Aunt Nellie's®, Green Valley®to the consumer in labeling and READ®. The remaining 90% of packaged foods were sold under private labels, food service, international, contracting packaging, industrial, prepared foods, chips, and cherry products (including the CherryMan® brand) segments.

Environmental protection is an area that has been worked on diligently at each food packaging facility. In all locations, the Company has cooperated with federal, state, and local environmental protection authorities in developing and maintaining suitable antipollution facilities. In general, we believe our pollution control facilities are equal to or somewhat superior to those of our competitors and are within environmental protection standards. The Company does not expect any material capital expenditures out of the ordinary course of business in order to comply with environmental regulations in the near future.

There has been a broad range of proposed and promulgated state, national and international regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change. In the United States, there is a significant possibility that some form of regulation will be forthcoming at the federal level to address the effects of climate change. Such regulation could result in the creation of additional costs in the form of taxes, consultant expenses, the restriction of output, investments of capital to maintain compliance with laws and regulations or required acquisition or trading of emission allowances.

The following factors as well as factors described elsewhere in this Form 10-K or in other filings by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission,SEC, could adversely affect the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Other factors not presently known to us or that we presently believe are not material could also affect our business operations or financial results. The Company refers to itself as “we”, “our” or “us” in this section.

If canned vegetable, frozen vegetable, or jarred fruit categories decline, less shelf space will be devoted to these categories in the supermarkets. Fresh and perishable businesses are improving their delivery systems around the world and the availability of fresh produce is impacting the consumers purchasing patterns relating to processedpackaged fruit and vegetables. Our financial performance and growth are related to conditions in the United States’ fruit and vegetable packaging industry which is a mature industry with a modest growth rate during the last 10 years.industry. Our net sales are a function of product availability and market pricing. In the fruit and vegetable packaging industry, product availability and market prices tend to have an inverse relationship: market prices tend to decrease as more product is available and to increase if less product is available. Product availability is a direct result of plantings, growing conditions, crop yields and inventory levels, all of which vary from year to year. Moreover, fruit and vegetable production outside the United States, particularly in Europe, Asia and South America, is increasing at a time when worldwide demand for certain products is being impacted by the global economic slowdown. These factors may have a significant effect on supply and competition and create downward pressure on prices. In addition, market prices can be affected by the planting and inventory levels and individual pricing decisions of our competitors. Generally, market prices in the fruit and vegetable packaging industry adjust more quickly to variations in product availability than an individual packager can adjust its cost structure; thus, in an oversupply situation, a packager’s margins likely will weaken. We typically have experienced lower margins during times of industry oversupply.

In the past, the fruit and vegetable packaging industry has been characterized by excess capacity, with resulting pressure on our prices and profit margins. We have closed packaging plants in past years in response to the downward pressure on prices. There can be no assurance that our margins will improve in response to favorable market conditions or that we will be able to operate profitably during depressed market conditions.

Our operations are affected by the growing cycles of the vegetables we package. When the vegetables are ready to be picked, we must harvest and package them quickly or forego the opportunity to package fresh picked vegetables for an entire year. Most of our vegetables are grown by farmers under contract with us. Consequently, we must pay the contract grower for the vegetables even if we cannot or do not harvest or package them. Most of our production occurs during the second quarter (July through September) of our fiscal year, which corresponds with the quarter that the growing season ends for most of the produce packaged by us. A majority of our sales occur during the thirdsecond and fourththird quarters of each fiscal year due to seasonal consumption patterns for our products. Accordingly, inventory levels are highest during the second and third quarters, and accounts receivable levels are highest during the thirdsecond and fourththird quarters. Net sales generated during our thirdsecond and fourththird fiscal quarters have a significant impact on our results of operations. Because of these seasonal fluctuations, the results of any particular quarter, particularly in the first half of our fiscal year, will not necessarily be indicative of results for the full year or for future years.

We set our planting schedules without knowing the effect of the weather on the crops or on the entire industry’s production. Weather conditions during the course of each vegetable crop’s growing season will affect the volume and growing time of that crop. As most of our vegetables are produced in more than one part of the U.S., this somewhat reduces the risk that our entire crop will be subject to disastrous weather. The upper Midwest is the primary growing region for the principal vegetables which we pack, namely peas, green beans and corn, and it is also a substantial source of our competitors’ vegetable production. TheA sizeable portion of our vegetable production areas are serviced with irrigation systems to help minimize (i) wet conditions for planting and (ii) dry conditions during the growing season. Any adverse effects of weather-related reduced production may be partially mitigated by higher selling prices for the vegetables which are produced.

The materials that we use, such as raw fruit and vegetables, steel, (used to make cans), ingredients, pouches and other packaging materials as well as the electricity, diesel fuel, and natural gas used in our business, are commodities that may experience price volatility caused by external factors, including market fluctuations, availability, currency fluctuations and changes in governmental regulations and agricultural programs. General inventory positions of major commodities, such as field corn, soybeans and wheat, all commodities with which we must compete for acreage, can have dramatic effects on prices for those commodities, which can translate into similar swings in prices needed to be paid for our contracted commodities. These programs and other events can result in reduced supplies of these commodities, higher supply costs or interruptions in our production schedules. If prices of these commodities increase beyond what we can pass along to our customers, our operating income will decrease.

The ultimate impact that the recent COVID-19 outbreak or any future pandemic or disease outbreak will have on our business and our consolidated results of operations is uncertain. To date we have seen increased customer and consumer demand for our products as the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States and consumers began pantry loading and increasing their at-home consumption as a result of increased social distancing and stay-at-home mandates. Increases in net sales by our company to supermarkets, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, wholesalers and ecommerce customers have more than offset declines at foodservice customers. However, this increased customer and consumer demand may decrease in the coming months.

Our efforts to manage and mitigate these factors may be unsuccessful, and the effectiveness of these efforts depends on factors beyond our control, including the duration and severity of any pandemic or disease outbreak, as well as third party actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate public health effects.

The ultimate impact of the COVID-19a pandemic on our business will depend on many factors, including, among others, the duration of social distancing and stay-at-home mandates, and whether a second or third wave of COVID-19 will affect the United States and the rest of North America, our ability to continue to operate our manufacturing facilities and maintain the supply chain without material disruption, and the extent to which macroeconomic conditions resulting from the pandemic and the pace of the subsequent recovery may impact consumer eating habits. We cannot predict the duration or scope of the disruption. Therefore, the financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

Our products are sold in a highly competitive marketplace, which includes increased concentration and a growing presence of large-format retailers and discounters. Dependence upon key customers could lead to increased pricing pressure by these customers. A relatively limited number of customers account for a large percentage of the Company’s total net sales. The top ten customers represented approximately 50%55%, and 49%53% of net sales for 2021fiscal years 2023 and 2020,2022, respectively. If we lose a significant customer or if sales to a significant customer materially decrease, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

All of our products compete with those of other national and regional food packaging companies under highly competitive conditions. The fruit and vegetable products which we sell under our own brand names not only compete with fruit and vegetable products produced by vegetablefood packaging competitors, but also compete with products we produce and sell tounder contract packing agreements with other companies who market those products under their own brand names such as the Green Giant and Del Monte vegetables we sell under contract packing agreements and the vegetables we sell to various retail grocery chains which carry our customer’s own brand names.

The customers who buy our products to sell under their own brand names control the marketing programs for those products. In recent years, many major retail food chains have been increasing their promotions, offerings and shelf space allocations for their own fruit and vegetable brands, to the detriment of fruit and vegetable brands owned by the packagers, including our own brands. We cannot predict the pricing or promotional activities of our customers/competitors or whether they will have a negative effect on us. There are competitive pressures and other factors, which could cause our products to lose market share or result in significant price erosion that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to competitively serve our customers depends on the availability of reliable and low-cost transportation. We use multiple forms of transportation to bring our products to market. They include trucks, intermodal, rail cars, and ships. Disruption to the timely supply of these services or increases in the cost of these services for any reason, including availability or cost of fuel, regulations affecting the industry, or labor shortages in the transportation industry, could have an adverse effect on our ability to serve our customers, and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The sale of food products for human consumption involves the risk of injury to consumers. Such injuries may result from mislabeling, tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination or spoilage, including the presence of foreign objects, undeclared allergens, substances, chemicals, other agents or residues introduced during the growing, manufacturing, storage, handling or transportation phases of production. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to recall products, leading to a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Even if a situation does not necessitate a recall, product liability claims might be asserted against us. We workhave from time to time been involved in product liability lawsuits, none of which have been material to our business. While we are subject to governmental inspection and regulations and believe our facilities comply in all material respects with regulators,all applicable laws and regulations, if the industryconsumption of any of our products causes, or is alleged to have caused, a health-related illness in the future we may become subject to claims or lawsuits relating to such matters. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused injury, illness or death could adversely affect our reputation with existing and supplierspotential customers and our corporate and brand image. Moreover, claims or liabilities of this sort might not be covered by our insurance or by any rights of indemnity or contribution that we may have against others. We maintain product liability insurance in an amount we believe to stay abreastbe adequate. However, we cannot assure you that we will not incur claims or liabilities for which we are not insured or that exceed the amount of developments.our insurance coverage. A product liability judgment against us could also result in substantial and unexpected expenditures, affect consumer confidence inor a product recall or the damage to our products, and divert management’s attention from other responsibilities. Product liability claims may also lead to increased scrutiny by federal and state regulatory agencies andreputation resulting therefrom could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, and results of operation. Although we maintain comprehensive general liability insurance coverage, there can be no assurance that this level of coverage is adequateoperations or that we will be able to continue to maintain our existing insurance or obtain comparable insurance at a reasonable cost, if at all. A product recall or a partially or completely uninsured judgment against us could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.liquidity.

We are, or may become, exposedparty to potential liabilities with respectvarious lawsuits and claims arising in the normal course of business, which may include lawsuits or claims relating to contracts, intellectual property, product recalls, product liability, the data thatmarketing and labeling of products, employment matters, environmental matters or other aspects of our business. Even when not merited, the defense of these lawsuits may divert our management’s attention, and we collect, manage and process, and may incur legal costs if our information security policies and procedures are not effective or ifsignificant expenses in defending these lawsuits. In addition, we aremay be required to defend our methods of collection, processing and storage of data. Future investigations, lawsuitspay damage awards or adverse publicity relatingsettlements or become subject to our methods of handling data could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows due to the costs and negative market reaction relating to such developments. We may not have the resourcesinjunctions or technical expertise to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of cyber-attacks. Actual or anticipated attacks will cause us to incur increased costs, including costs to hire additional personnel, purchase additional protection technologies, train employees, and engage third-party experts and consultants. In addition, data and security breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including breach by us or by persons with whom we have commercial relationships that result in the unauthorized release of confidential information. Any compromise or breach of our security could result in violation of applicable privacy and other laws, significant legal and financial exposure, and a loss of confidence in our security measures,equitable remedies, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. The outcome of litigation is often difficult to predict, and the outcome of pending or future litigation may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

We maintain a company-sponsored defined benefit pension plan. A deterioration in the value of plan assets resulting from poor market performance, a general financial downturn or otherwise could cause an increase in the amount of contributions we are required to make to these plans. For example, our defined benefit pension plan may from time to time move from an overfunded to underfunded status driven by decreases in plan asset values that may result from changes in long-term interest rates and disruptions in U.S. or global financial markets. For a more detailed description of the pension plan, refer to the information set forth under the heading “Retirement Plans”in Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” An obligation to make additional, unanticipated contributions to our defined benefit plans could reduce the cash available for working capital and other corporate uses, and may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

As a food packager, we regularly dispose of produce wastes (silage) and processing water as well as materials used in plant operation and maintenance and our plant boilers, which generate heat used in packaging produceand can manufacturing operations, producing generally small emissions into the air. These activities and operations are regulated by federal and state laws and the respective federal and state environmental agencies. Occasionally, we may be required to remediate conditions found by the regulators to be in violation of environmental law or to contribute to the cost of remediating waste disposal sites, which we neither owned nor operated, but in which, we and other companies deposited waste materials, usually through independent waste disposal companies. Future possible costs of environmental remediation, contributions and penalties could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We only have three plantsone plant that receive and produceproduces fruit products and one plant that produces pumpkin products. We have two plants that manufacture empty cans, one with substantially more capacity than the other, which are not interchangeable since each plant cannot necessarily produce all the can sizes needed. Although we maintain property and business interruption insurance coverage, there can be no assurance that this level of coverage is adequate in the event of a catastrophe or significant disruption at these or other Company facilities. If such an event occurs, it could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In the future, we may undertake acquisitions of other businesses or introduce new products, although there can be no assurances that these will occur. Such undertakings involve numerous risks and significant investments. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify and acquire acquisition candidates on favorable terms, to profitably manage or to successfully integrate future businesses that we may acquire or new products we may introduce without substantial costs, delays or problems. Any of these outcomes could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

At the end of our 2021 fiscal year,December 2022, we had approximatelyroughly 3,000 employees of which 2,900approximately 2,800 were full time, and 100 seasonal employees worked in food packaging, and 100 employees worked in other activities. During the peak summer harvest period, we hire up toaveraged approximately 4,0003,600 additional seasonal employees to help package fruit and vegetables. If there is a shortage of seasonal labor, especially during 2021 as a result of COVID-19 or if there is an increase to minimum wage rates, this could have a negative impact on our cost of operations. Many of our packaging operations are located in rural communities that may not have sufficient labor pools, requiring us to hire employees from other regions. An inability to hire and train sufficient employees during the critical harvest period could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Food Safety Modernization Act ("FSMA") was enacted with the goal of enabling the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA")FDA to better protect public health by strengthening the food safety system. FSMA was designed to focus the efforts of FDA on preventing food safety problems rather than relying primarily on reacting to problems after they occur. The law also provides the FDA with new enforcement authorities designed to achieve higher rates of compliance with prevention and risk-based food safety standards and to better respond to and contain problems when they do occur.  The increased inspections, mandatory recall authority of the FDA, increased scrutiny of foreign sourced or supplied food products, and increased records access may have an impact on our business. As we are already in a highly regulated business, operating under the increased scrutiny of more FDA authority does not appear likely to negatively impact our business.  The law also gives FDA important new tools to hold imported foods to the same standards as domestic foods.

The Company’sOur product introductions and product improvements, along with its other marketplace initiatives, are designed to capitalize on new customer or consumer trends. The FDA recentlyhas issued a statement on sodium which referred to an Institute of Medicine statement that too much sodium is a major contributor to high blood pressure. Some of our products contain a moderate amount of sodium per recommended serving, which is based on consumer’s preferences for taste.  In order to remain successful, the Companywe must anticipate and react to these new trends and develop new products or packages to address them. While the Company devoteswe devote significant resources to meeting this goal, we may not be successful in developing new products or packages, or our new products or packages may not be accepted by customers or consumers.

Unfavorable economic conditions, including the impact of recessions in the United States and throughout the world, may negatively affect our business and financial results. These economic conditions could negatively impact (i) consumer demand for our products, (ii) the mix of our products’ sales, (iii) our ability to collect accounts receivable on a timely basis, (iv) the ability of suppliers to provide the materials required in our operations and (v) our ability to obtain financing or to otherwise access the capital markets. The strength of the U.S. dollar versus other world currencies could result in increased competition from imported products and decreased sales to our international customers. A prolonged recession could result in decreased revenue, margins and earnings. Additionally, the economic situation could have an impact on our lenders or customers, causing them to fail to meet their obligations to us. The occurrence of any of these risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As of March 31, 2021,2023, we had approximately $169.4 million of total indebtedness, including various debt agreements and a $1.0$180.6 million outstanding balance on our revolving credit facility (“Revolver”).  Scheduled debt service for fiscal 2021 is $28.3 million.  During our second and third fiscal quarters, our operations generally require more cash than is available from operations. In these circumstances, it is necessary to borrow under our Revolver. Our ability to obtain financing in the future through credit facilities will be affected by several factors, including our creditworthiness, our ability to operate in a profitable manner and general market and credit conditions. Significant changes in our business or cash outflows from operations could create a need for additional working capital. An inability to obtain additional working capital on terms reasonably acceptable to us or access the Revolver would materially and adversely affect our operations. Additionally, if we need to use a portion of our cash flows to pay principal and interest on our debt, it will reduce the amount of money we have for operations, working capital, capital expenditures, expansions, acquisitions or general corporate or other business activities. 

Our debt agreements and Revolver contain financial and other restrictive covenants which, among other things, limit our ability to borrow money, including with respect to the refinancing of existing indebtedness. These provisions may limit our ability to conduct our business, take advantage of business opportunities and respond to changing business, market and economic conditions. In addition, they may place us at a competitive disadvantage relative to other companies that may be subject to fewer, if any, restrictions. Failure to comply with the requirements of our Revolver and debt agreements could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have pledged our accounts receivable, inventory, and theequipment, certain facilities, capital stock, or other ownership interests that we own in our subsidiaries to secure the Revolver.certain debt. If a default occurred and was not cured, secured lenders could foreclose on this collateral.

Holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to one vote per share, while holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one-twentieth of a vote per share. In addition, holders of our 10% Cumulative Convertible Voting Preferred Stock, Series A, our 10% Cumulative Convertible Voting Preferred Stock, Series B and, solely with respect to the election of directors, our 6% Cumulative Voting Preferred Stock, which we refer to as our voting preferred stock, are entitled to one vote per share. As of March 31, 2021,2023, holders of Class B common stock and voting preferred stock held 88.1%90.2% of the combined voting power of all shares of capital stock then outstanding and entitled to vote. These shareholders, if acting together, would be in a position to control the election of our directors and to effect or prevent certain corporate transactions that require majority or supermajority approval of the combined classes, including mergers and other business combinations. This may result in us taking corporate actions that you may not consider to be in your best interest and may affect the price of our common stock.

As of March 31, 2021,2023, our current executive officers and directors beneficially owned 9.3%11.4% of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock, 44.2%50.07% of our outstanding shares of Class B common stock and 10.8%23.1% of our voting preferred stock, or 29.1%37.2% of the combined voting power of our outstanding shares of capital stock. This concentration of voting power may inhibit changes in control of the Company and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and provisions of the New York Business Corporation Law may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control. Various provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may inhibit changes in control not approved by our directors and may have the effect of depriving shareholders of any opportunity to receive a premium over the prevailing market price of our common stock in the event of an attempted unsolicited takeover. In addition, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. These provisions include:

We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock in the past. In addition, payment of cash dividends on our common stock is not permitted by the terms of our revolving credit facility. This policy may be revisited under the correct circumstances in the future.

The Company usesWe use the Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) method of inventory accounting. As of March 31, 2021,2023, we had a LIFO reserve of $128.7$264.5 million which, at the U.S. corporate tax rate, represents approximately $32.2$66.1 million of income taxes, payment of which is delayed to future dates based upon changes in inventory costs. From time-to-time, discussions regarding changes in U.S. tax laws have included the potential of LIFO being repealed. Should LIFO be repealed, the $32.2$66.1 million of postponed taxes, plus any future benefit realized prior to the date of repeal, would likely have to be repaid over some period of time. Repayment of these postponed taxes will reduce the amount of cash that we would have available to fund our operations, working capital, capital expenditures, expansions, acquisitions or general corporate or other business activities. This could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In conjunction with our workers’ compensation program, we operate a wholly owned insurance subsidiary, Dundee Insurance Company, Inc. We recognize this subsidiary as an insurance company for federal income tax purposes with respect to our consolidated federal income tax return. In the event the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) were to determine that this subsidiary does not qualify as an insurance company, we could be required to make accelerated income tax payments to the IRS that we otherwise would have deferred until future periods.

The Company believes that these facilities are suitable and adequate for the purposes for which they are currently intended. All locations, although highly utilized, have the ability to expand as sales requirements justify. Because of the seasonal production cycles, the exact extent of utilization is difficult to measure.

See Note 15, "LegalThe information set forth under the heading “Legal Proceedings and Other Contingencies"Contingencies” in Note 15 of Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplemental Data.

The 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2007 Equity Plan”) wasOn August 10, 2022, the Board approved by shareholders atan amendment to the Company’s annual meeting on August 10, 2007 and extended on July 28, 2017. The 2007 Equity Plan expires in August 2027 and originally authorizedstock repurchase program which increased the issuancemaximum number of shares to be repurchased under the program up to 100,0002,000,000 shares of eitherthe Company's Class A Common Stock andand/or Class B Common Stock, or a combinationincluding the shares of convertible participating preferred stock of the two classesCompany, (collectively, the “Common Stock”). Under the repurchase program, the Company may purchase shares of stock. 2,297 shares were awardedCommon Stock from time to time in fiscal year 2021the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Board also authorized the establishment of a stock trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the termsSecurities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to make purchases of Common Stock pursuant to the 2007 Equity Plan. Asstock repurchase program. The timing and amount of March 31, 2021, there were 52,752 shares available for distribution as part of future awardsstock repurchases under the 2007 Equity Plan. No additionalprogram, if any, will be at the discretion of management, and will depend on available cash, market conditions and other considerations. Therefore, we cannot assure you as to the number or aggregate dollar amount of shares, have been awardedif any, that will be repurchased under the 2007 Equity Plan throughrepurchase program. We may discontinue the date of this Form 10-K.program at any time. 

Refer to the information in the 20212023 Annual Report, attached as Exhibit 13 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, under the section “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, which is incorporated by reference.

Refer to the information in the 20212023 Annual Report, "Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto includingattached as Exhibit 13 to this Annual Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm,"on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TheCertain information regarding directorsrequired by Part III is incorporated herein by reference from the section entitled “Information Concerning Directors” in the Company’s definitiveDefinitive Proxy Statement (“Proxy Statement”) to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for the Company’sits 2023 Annual Meeting of StockholdersShareholders to be held on August 11, 2021.9, 2023 (“Proxy Statement”). The Proxy Statement will be filed within 120 days after the end of the Company’s fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.2023.