State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, has selected Oxnard-based Agromin, a soil product manufacturer and composter for more than 50 California cities, as the 2013 Small Business of the Year for her Senate District.

Agromin will be honored along with more than 70 other businesses at the California Small Business Day event in Sacramento on June 10. Held since 2000, the event is an opportunity for legislators to honor exceptional small businesses in California.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities and absolutely vital to our economy,” Jackson said. “Agromin is a fine example of a small business that not only contributes significantly to the economic vitality of our area and our agricultural industry, but is also doing so in an environmentally sustainable way.”

“It’s an honor to be recognized,” Agromin CEO Bill Camarillo said. “It’s important to understand how critical small businesses are to our economy. Small businesses represent 99 percent of all California businesses and employ 52 percent of the state’s workforce. Most of the companies in the sustainable solutions sector, such as Agromin, are small but growing. This bodes well for California’s future.”

Agromin manufactures earth-friendly compost, soil amendments, barks and mulches for agricultural growers, landscapers, gardeners and others. Each month, Agromin receives more than 30,000 tons of organic material which it then transforms into composted soil products.

— Lisa Gardiner is the communications director for state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson.