Lundberg Family Farms

Lundberg Family Farms, based in Richvale, California, produces, packages, and markets organic foods. It is family owned and has been a pioneer in organic farming, especially rice products. It was the first business to produce and market a brand of organic rice in the United States. Today it is one of the United States' top brands of organic products, with convert|14000|acre|km2 under management. [cite web | author = Boon, Elizabeth | title = California Farmers Reconsidering Opposition to Subsidies | publisher = New York Times | date = 2002 | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E1DC123DF93BA35757C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 ]

History

Albert and Frances Lundberg, the grandparents of the current Lundbergs, traveled west to Richvale, California in 1937 from Nebraska, seeking their fortunes out west in the wake of the Great Depression. In Nebraska they had farmed wheat and corn, but they found that their 40 acres 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 Farms, after their initials.cite web | title = The Lundbergs: From Dust Bowl to Rice Bowl | publisher = Natural Foods Merchandiser | | date = 2007 | url = http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/ASP/articleDisplay.asp?strArticleId=2275&strSite=NFMSITE&Screen=CURRENTISSUE ]

The Lundbergs have grown from that 40 acres to their current convert|14000|acre|km2 under cultivation. An important factor in the Lundbergs has been education, with Harlan and Homer trained in agriculture, Eldon trained 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, as many corporate agribusinesses are. It owns about convert|5000|acre|km2 and contracts for another convert|9000|acre|km2. 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 an eight-member board of directors composed entirely of third-generation Lundberg family members.

ustainability

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 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. [cite web | title = Green Energy, Ecological Innovation Reduces Pioneering Grower's Footprint | url = http://www.lundberg.com/press/green_energy.pdf ]

The company is currently a member of the EPA's Green Power Partnership where it is listed as the only agribusiness running on 100% green power. [ [http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/partners/lundbergfamilyfarms.htm EPA GreenPower Partners] ] [ [http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/customers.shtml?page=1&companyid=152 Lundberg Family Farms: Major Purchaser of Green Power] ]

External links

* [http://www.lundberg.com/info/factsheet.shtml Lundberg Family Farms Factsheet]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=EfQ6n4tJ8gUC&pg=PA398&lpg=PA398&dq=%22lundberg+family+farms%22&source=web&ots=E1TDPcVh71&sig=xCVaeZu8KFrlCDxZJ6Otaqzp22g Google books - Case study of Lundberg Family Farms]
* [http://www.drakerlabs.com/case_studies/detail/lundberg-family-farms/ Draker 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."

Citations