In Memory Of Homer Lundberg

We like to think Eldon, Wendell, Harlan, and Homer Lundberg are having lunch at the café in heaven. Together again.

Homer, the youngest of the four brothers who built Lundberg Family Farms into a leading grower of organic rice and maker of best-selling packaged rice and rice snacks, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at the age of 89.

Born in 1935 in Holdrege, Nebraska, Homer was two years old when he and his family moved to Richvale, California, with a Farmall tractor, a flatbed Chevy truck, and a new farming philosophy: “Leave the land better than you found it.”

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education and serving in the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Reserve, Homer joined his father and brothers in the family rice farming business. In 1969, the four Lundberg brothers started milling their own organic brown rice and selling it directly to the public, launching the company that would become Lundberg Family Farms. Homer served as the company’s Treasurer until he assumed the title of Chairman as his older brothers reduced their day-to-day involvement in company operations. Homer stepped down as Chairman in 2006, completing the transition of the business to the third generation of the family.

“We’re going from being builders to being teachers,” he said, “The business is well established. Now we have to teach our kids what it means to carry on.”

Homer was a lifelong advocate for organic farming. In the early 1970s, he joined with other organic farmers to establish California Certified Organic Farmers, creating consistent standards to help guide and grow the organic movement. For decades, he researched new ways to reduce weeds in organic rice fields, helping to develop many mechanical and agronomic systems to give rice plants a competitive advantage over weeds. Alongside his brothers, Homer helped cultivate organic rice farming practices that they shared with other family farmers in our region, contributing to the success of California’s organic rice industry. Homer’s great passion for organic farming continued well into his “retirement.”

In 2016, Homer received the California Rice Industry Award in recognition of his lifetime of contributions. Homer was humbled by the award, and grateful for the farmers who went before him, saying: “We’ve been able to stand on the shoulders of giants who have worked hard and put up their wherewithal to make rice farming what it is today.”

Homer was one such giant, and we are grateful for his lifetime of leadership, service, and generosity. We will miss his strong and calming presence, his stories and sense of humor, and his love of family and farming.