Riverbend International bought 312 acres of Ventura...

Riverbend International bought 312 acres of Ventura County lemon groves for about $6.3 million. The purchase will increase the San Joaquin Valley food company’s lemon production by up to 200,000 cartons “and further balance our citrus product mix,” said President Donald D. Dauer. Riverbend, a publicly traded company, intends to resell the groves to a buyer willing to lease back the property or enter into a farm-management contract under which Riverbend would work the groves and harvest, pack, process and market the lemon, Dauer said.