FOWLER, CA - Fowler-based company Bee Sweet Citrus has taken home one of the Central Valley’s most coveted agribusiness awards. Certified Public Accountants Baker Peterson Franklin (BPF) has chosen Bee Sweet as its recipient of the 2017 Baker Peterson Franklin Ag Business Award.

“Bee Sweet Citrus was selected for its outstanding achievements and contributions to Central Valley’s ag industry,” the firm shared. “Bee Sweet Citrus has a distinguished record of positive leadership, entrepreneurship, and service to the agriculture industry and our community making them the 2017 Baker Peterson Franklin Ag Business Award recipient.”

According to a press release, the BPF Ag Business Award honors any for-profit service, product-related agribusiness, or farming entity headquartered in the Central San Joaquin Valley and is selected by a committee representing the local agribusiness industry, as well as the BPF Ag Department. Bee Sweet Citrus will be honored at the Ag Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, November 1 at Clovis Veterans Memorial District, where both the BPF Business Award and the Fresno Chamber Agriculturalist of the Year, Don Cameron of Terranova Ranch, will be presented.

Founded in 1987 in a wood shed, President Jim Marderosian has helped grow Bee Sweet Citrus to be the 36-acre business it is today, hosting a 400,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility, 20 citrus varieties, 10,000 growing acres, and packing 10 million cartons annually. BPF noted that the company’s vertical integration and having control at every step of the process are key to the company’s exceptional product quality. Bee Sweet Citrus is also environmentally sustainable with a high-tech solar panel system, water conservation and recycling programs, electric forklifts, and recyclable packaging.

As well as its agricultural feats, Bee Sweet Citrus is also an active leader in the industry and a partner in the community. The organization serves on numerous industry boards and supports a variety of charitable organizations, including a recent $1 million donation to Valley Children’s Healthcare new pediatric care center in Fowler, $600,000 for a custom built citrus processing line at Fresno State; $1.5 million to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s new plant pathology lab and service on the Dean’s Advisory Council, and a $100,000 gift to Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Past BPF Ag Business Award recipients include:

• Booth Ranches
• Hall Management
• HMC Farms
• Gar Tootelian
• Sun-Maid Growers
• Allied Grape Growers
• Fresno Equipment Company
• Errotabere Ranches
• Harris Farms
• Borba Farms
• National Raisin Co.
• Ballantine Produce Co.
• Woolf Enterprises
• Producers Dairy Foods
• P-R Farms
• J&L Vineyards
• Fowler Packing Company
• Joseph Gallo Farms
• Wawona Frozen Foods
• Wilbur-Ellis Western Division
• Zacky Farms

Luncheon tickets are available through the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, so check out www.fresnochamber.com, or call (559) 495-4800. if you would like to attend.

Bee Sweet Citrus