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                                                                     EXHIBIT 99






                        PRESS RELEASE, NOVEMBER 10, 2000



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              IMMEDIATE--                            Kelly McGrail 312/706-3281


                      OIL-DRI ANNOUNCES NEW ROLE FOR CHAIRMAN

   CHICAGO --  November  10, 2000  Oil-Dri  Corporation  of America (ODC - NYSE)
   announced  today  that  Richard  M.  Jaffee,  Chairman,  who will  turn 65 in
   January,  2001, will retire as an employee of the company effective  February
   1, 2001.  Mr.  Jaffee will remain  Chairman of the Board and will continue to
   provide counsel to the company on a consulting  basis  beginning  February 1,
   2001 and running to February 1, 2006.

   Mr. Jaffee began his career at Oil-Dri in 1958 when it was a  distributor  of
   industrial oil and grease  absorbents  with $1,000,000 in sales.  Today,  the
   company has sales of  $175,000,000,  serves a variety of diverse  markets and
   employs approximately 800 people worldwide.

   "We have an  outstanding  management  team led by Dan Jaffee,  President  and
   Chief  Executive  Officer.  I have complete  confidence  that this group will
   successfully lead Oil-Dri into the new century.  I look forward to continuing
   my service on the board of directors and working with the management  team on
   strategic issues."

   Oil-Dri is the  world's  largest  manufacturer  of cat  litters and a leading
   supplier  of  specialty   sorbent   products  for   industrial,   automotive,
   agricultural, sports field and fluids purification markets.