Lundberg Family Farms, a grower of organic rice and maker of packaged rice and rice snacks, is now leading in the number of Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) rice products on the market, with over 70 products in its portfolio.
 
The company became the first U.S.-based rice brand to introduce ROC rice to the market last year.
 
“We have a massive opportunity to positively impact consumers’ plates and the planet. Rice is a staple for more than 3.5 billion people around the world and the foundation for meals across cultures and cuisines,” said Suzanne Sengelmann, chief growth officer at Lundberg. “We’re bringing Regenerative Organic Certified rice to every category of our product portfolio, including packaged rice, rice cakes, rice and seasoning mixes, and 90-second rice, which has the potential to introduce a broad audience of convenience-minded and conventional consumers to regenerative organic products. We’re betting the farm on it.”
 
Lundberg worked with the Regenerative Organic Alliance to certify more than 8,500 acres of rice, which is four times more than the previous year. The California-based farm grows 70% of the state’s ROC rice and plans to transition the rest of its organic acreage by 2027.
 
“Our family has been obsessed with growing the best rice since 1937,” said Brita Lundberg, chief storyteller and fourth-generation farmer. “We believe Regenerative Organic Certified represents the gold standard and another step in our journey to leave the land better than we found it. Like life, we believe farming isn’t just about the destination. It’s also about how you get there. After all, what’s regenerative about using toxic chemicals? Rice is a plant that grows in the ground. The way we grow it matters.”
 
The Lundbergs began growing organic rice in the 1960s, three decades before the USDA implemented national organic standards, where, according to the company, they were referred to as “those crazy Lundbergs” for refusing to burn rice straw left in their fields after harvest, which was once standard practice in the Sacramento Valley. But that organic matter helped to reduce pollution and build back soil.
 
Regenerative Organic Best Practices
 
To achieve ROC, the farm implemented water and weed management practices, like drowning grass weeds and drying aquatic weeds instead of dousing fields with herbicides.
 
The company’s in-house nursery and resident rice experts use natural methods to improve and develop rice varieties compatible with regenerative organic farming rather than conventional agriculture.
 
California has lost 95% of its natural wetlands, according to California Waterfowl, but to help provide habitat for thousands of wintering waterfowl, Lundberg floods its fields to replicate them. After the birds fly away, the water is returned to rivers and streams where zooplankton from the fields can sustain juvenile salmon populations.
 
Lundberg also grows cover crops during the winter, which serve to make fields fertile and provide nesting habitat for ducks. When Lundberg finds duck nests on its property, eggs are hand-carried to safety, and the farm has rescued an estimated 30,000 duck eggs thus far.
 
Expanding the Portfolio
 
Almost half of Lundberg’s entire product portfolio is now made with ROC rice, including:

• Regenerative Organic Certified White Jasmine Rice
• 90-Second Cilantro Lime Rice made with Regenerative Organic Certified Rice
• Regenerative Organic Certified Lightly Salted Rice Cakes
• White Cheddar Rice Cake Minis made with Regenerative Organic Certified Rice
• Regenerative Organic Certified Red Rice & Quinoa Thin Rice Cakes