• Lundberg Family Farms, Butte County, is a multi-generation organic rice farm and rice-products company. The Lundberg family has a long commitment to sustainable farming practices that care for the soil, wildlife, air and water. Their conservation achievements include growing rice following national organic standards, utilizing natural methods of pest control, and flooding fields to break down rice stubble and to provide habitat for millions of migrating waterfowl each winter.
• Sweet Haven Dairy, Fresno County, a dairy run by brothers Donny and Andy Rollins. The brothers’ conservation commitment led them to test and scale an underground water-wise drip irrigation system to grow cow feed in lieu of the standard irrigation technique of flooding fields. This and other water-saving practices have helped them reduce their water use by 50% and save tens of millions of gallons of water each year. The brothers are also pioneers in the use of conservation tillage on their cow-feed crops.
The 2018 California Leopold Conservation Award will be presented in December at the California Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting in San Diego. Each finalist will be recognized at the event. The award recipient will receive a crystal depicting Aldo Leopold and $10,000.
