A big honor for this central San Joaquin Valley couple. They will be recognized this summer
Selma growers Bill and Carol Chandler, owners of Chandler Farms, have been named Agriculturalists of the Year, the California State Fair Board of Directors announced.
Bill Chandler, a third-generation farmer in Fresno County, has grown peaches in the Selma area for more than 40 years.
He and his wife also grow grapes, plums, nectarines and almonds on the family farm in Fresno County, founded in the 1880s by Bill’s grandfather, W.F. Chandler.
Their sons, John and Tom, recently joined the family farming business.
“They truly are an unmatched duo when it comes to participating in leadership roles to articulate the value and need of the marvelous bounty of food, fiber and fauna that our state produces,” Barry Bedwell of the California Agriculture Leadership Foundation said in a news release.
The Agriculturalist of the Year award is presented to an individual or individuals who have contributed extensively, in a professional capacity, to California’s agricultural industry.
Those awarded must have demonstrated leadership and clearly represented the industry over a number of years in one or more of the following areas: finance, government, production agriculture, education, labor, research, communications, trade and public service.
Bill and Carol met at UC Davis. Carol’s first occupation was teaching but she left the classroom to devote herself to raising John and Tom and working on the business side of the farm.
Carol was on the California State University Board of Trustees until 2012.
The couple will formally be honored at the California State Fair Gala in Sacramento on June 25.
