The Kiwanis Club of Tulare will present its 57th Farmer of the Year award to Doug Mederos owner of Doug Les Farms. The award luncheon will be held Wednesday, March 29 at 12pm at the Heritage Complex in Tulare. Tickets are available for $25 in advance from Kiwanis Club members and various businesses in Tulare, tickets will be $30 at the door.
Mederos grew up on a dairy and diversified farm just four miles from Tulare. He graduated from Tulare Western High School, College of the Sequoias and Cal Poly. He returned to the family dairy after graduating college and became a partner in P & M Farms with his father, uncle and cousin. Later he was the owner of a dairy and farm with his cousin Larry Pires for over 15 years operating under the business name of Pires and Mederos Dairy. In 1996, Mederos branched off on his own and began farming with his wife Leslie as Doug Les Farms.
Today Mederos farms over 1,000 acres, which includes land he owns, leases, and custom farms for others. He primarily farms cotton, beans, alfalfa, corn, almonds and pistachios.
Mederos has a long and distinguished record of community service and leadership. He is currently president of the Oak Valley School Board, which he was elected to serve on as a trustee in 1999. For over 20 years he has been a board member of the Mid Valley Cotton Growers. He is a past director and current member in the Tulare County Cabrillo Civic Club. He has also been involved in youth sports for many years, and served as an assistant coach to the TWHS boys and girls golf teams.
Mederos has been involved with the Tulare Softball Association and Tulare Little League, as well as the TWHS Volleyball team and Soccer club. In addition he has been a proud sponsor of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, and the National Alliance for Mental Illness here in Tulare County.
Mederos and his wife, Leslie, have three children, Jared, Tyler, and Madison. He has been a lifelong resident of Tulare and a proud local leader and civic member of the community.
Tickets are available at Garton Tractor, Machado Hay, and Rabobank in Tulare. For information contact Celeste Moore, event chair at (559) 686-5854.