Lundberg Family Farms, based in

Richvale Richvale (also, Richland, Silbys Switch, Silsby) is a small census-designated place (population 244) in Butte County, California, US, south of Chico and west of Oroville. The primary crop grown in the area surrounding Richvale is rice, irriga ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, is a farm that produces rice, chips and their packaging, and that also markets

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

s. It is family owned and has been a pioneer in

organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

, especially

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

products. It was the first business to produce and market a brand of organic

rice in the United States Rice production is the third largest among cereals in the United States, after corn and wheat. Of the country's row crop farms, rice farms are the most capital-intensive, and have the highest national land rental rate average. In the US, all ric ...

. Today it is one of the United States' top brands of

organic products An organic product is made from materials produced by organic agriculture. Most well known organic products are organic food items, however clothing and personal care items can also be made with organic agriculture. Many countries have strict c ...

, with under management.

History

Albert and Frances Lundberg, the grandparents of the current Lundbergs, traveled west to

, California, in 1937 from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, seeking their fortunes out west after the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In Nebraska they had farmed wheat and corn, but they found that their of hard clay in California were better suited for rice. Since the beginning they have been early pioneers in ecologically sound agriculture. While Albert Lundberg's neighbors were burning leftover rice stalks, for example, Albert devised a way to plow those stalks back into the field as fertilizer. Because of this early focus, the Lundbergs were the first American farmers to market a brand of organic rice products. In order to accomplish this, Albert's sons Wendell, Eldon, Harlan, and Homer had to build their own mill and establish a company which they called Wehah Farm, after their initials. The Lundbergs have grown from that to their current under cultivation. An important factor in the Lundbergs has been education, with Harlan and Homer trained in agriculture, Eldon trained in civil engineering, and Wendell trained in industrial arts. The current CEO, Grant Lundberg, has a degree in agricultural business and a master's in agricultural economics.

Business model

Lundberg Family Farms is uncommonly large among organic farms. It is also vertically integrated (meaning that the systems for producing, handling, and distributing their products is also owned by Lundberg Family Farms), as many corporate

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

es are. It owns about and contracts for another . Around 70 percent is farmed organically, but the company calls the remainder "eco-farmed", which means that it is farmed with pesticides and fertilizers that are carefully chosen for minimal environmental damage. On the eco-farmed portion they use one insecticide, eight selected herbicides, some conventional fertilizers, and fewer cover crops. The conventional methods mean less labor and less cost, allowing the company to compete in conventional markets. The company is controlled by a ten-member board of directors composed of third-generation Lundberg family members and other industry professionals.

Sustainability

The Lundbergs have been consistently recognized for their efforts in sustainability. In 2004 Lundberg Family Farms was awarded the Green Power Leadership Award by the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

of the United States for offsetting 100% of its power with wind energy certificates, making it one of the largest purchasers in California and the first organic food manufacturer to do so. The company is currently a member of the EPA's Green Power Partnership where it is listed as the only

running on 100% green power.

References

External links

Lundberg Family Farms official websiteWall Street Journal Top Small Workplaces 2008
"This organic-rice-products business has been family owned for 71 years -- and is set on keeping things that way. But Lundberg Family Farms -- formally known as Wehah Farms Inc. -- also offers employees who aren't family members the chance to build long, fulfilling careers."
Google books - Case study of Lundberg Family FarmsDraker Labs - Case study of Lundberg Family Farms electricity use
"By shifting demand patterns, the farm leaves room to export electricity during the times of the day where the utilities pay the highest rates." {{Coord, 39, 29, 59, N, 121, 44, 53, W, region:US-CA, display=title Companies based in Butte County, California Farms in California Organic farming in the United States Rice organizations Family-owned companies of the United States