Lundberg Family Farms, a leading Regenerative Organic Certified® brand known for its California-grown rice and rice-based products, has officially announced a commitment to accelerate research and development of rice varieties, compatible with climate-friendly regenerative organic farming practices, by launching its new Black Pearl Rice.
According to certain reports, the stated rice took Lundberg 12 years to develop, an effort which was essentially geared towards helping them thrive within California’s Sacramento Valley and the company’s own regenerative organic system. More on the same would reveal how this Black Pearl Rice also come decked up with a 25% higher crop yield, as well as an ability to produce 25% more rice per acre.
To understand the significance of such a development, we must take into how, at the moment, no more than four companies control 60% of the world’s crop seed and agricultural chemical sales. The problem, however, is that these companies would develop a larger chunk of their crops for resistance to chemical herbicides and pesticides, something which can contribute to climate change throughout their lifecycle.
In contrast, Lundberg have proven its mettle in terms of studying, selecting, and developing rice varieties that are in line with regenerative organic farming practices like drowning and drying up weeds, instead of dousing fields with chemicals.
Validating this approach is a recent study from researchers at UC Davis where it was revealed that Dry Up method of organic weed management can help reduce global warming potential (GWP) by 49% relative to continuous flood.
“In the 1970s, my dad started our nursery program in an effort to bring diverse rice varieties to American consumers,” said Bryce Lundberg, vice president of agriculture at Lundberg Family Farms. “It didn’t take long for us to realize that we’d have to develop our own rice varieties if we wanted them to not only taste delicious but also thrive under organic conditions. We continue to invest in our breeding program because we believe the quality of our food and the future of our planet depend on it.”
The arrival of Black Pearl Rice also builds upon Lundberg’s decision to ensure that any new variety of rice commercialized by the company in 2025 will need to produce at least 10% more rice per acre.
Moving forward, each of these varieties will try and achieve, for starters, the desired level of consumer delight. This they will realize through consistency, irresistible aroma, and delicious taste.
Next up, there is the promise of seedling vigor, a feature that translates to their ability to jump through deep water and outcompete the other weeds.
Another detail worth a mention is rooted in their early maturity. You see, a shorter season and earlier harvest can tread up a long distance to conserve resources and improve quality of the produce.
Moving on, Lundberg’s rice also boast an optimal amount of lodging resistance. As rice become hard to harvest once they fall down, the strength to hold their own can simplify things to a great extent.
Not just that, these rice varieties further enjoy an ideal plant type, as they are not too tall and have a strong stalk to support the plant, and multiple tillers.
Rounding up highlights would be the Lundberg rice’s tendency to tolerate heat and cold.
Among other things, we ought to mention that, over the last 10 years, Lundberg has trialed over 80,000 unique breeding lines. We also cannot go without touching upon the fact that 99% of all the organic rice Lundberg grows is now Regenerative Organic Certified.®
“The Lundbergs have always been obsessed with rice, from going organic before it was cool to creating a market for brown rice,” said Craig Stevenson, CEO at Lundberg Family Farms. “But nobody is going to buy rice just because it’s good for people or the planet—it also needs to taste great. Through our breeding program, we’re taking our rice obsession to a new level and developing natural, non-GMO varieties of rice that can do it all.”
