Rominger Brothers Farms: A Model of Sustainability & Stewardship

Bruce and Rick Rominger are fifth-generation farmers and ranchers. Their business, Rominger Brothers Farms, became a model of environmental sustainability through their commitment to growing crops and managing rangeland using sustainable practices. Partnering with California Rangeland Trust to forever protect their land allowed them to maintain numerous habitat-improvement efforts. Efforts such as planting miles of hedgerows to benefit important pollinators like bees and managing irrigation water on their rice fields to boost declining shorebird populations. The consistent work they put into stewarding the land does not go unnoticed. The National Association of Conservation Districts recognized these practices and presented Rominger Brothers Farms with the distinguished National Conservation Planning Partnership’s Hugh Hammond Bennett Award for Conservation Excellence. The organization presented Bruce and Rick with the award at their 2019 Annual Meeting Appreciation Banquet. “Rominger Brothers Farms is a perfect example of farmers and ranchers positively impacting California’s food and agricultural scene,” said Mark Nelson, Chairman of California Rangeland Trust. “They understand the importance of serving the land through good stewardship practices to ensure the land will remain vibrant habitat for food production and wildlife. The Rangeland Trust is proud to congratulate Bruce and Rick for winning this prestigious award.” Most Americans are disconnected from the food source process; few think about the ranchers and farmers behind it all. Recent documentaries on food production in the United States have sparked a larger conversation about from where the nation’s food comes. Some of these documentaries have perpetuated the idea that food production is corporate and impersonal. Rominger Brothers Farms proves otherwise. They have always been a big picture family. The Rominger brothers’ father, Rich Rominger, served six years as Director of the California Department of Food & Agriculture, and eight years in Washington, D.C. as the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). His wife, Evelyne, grew up in a dairy family, and always encouraged her four children—Rick, Charlie, Ruth, and Bruce—to “think globally, act locally.” Rich and Evelyne were awarded the 2018 Agricultural Family of the Year by the Yolo County Farm Bureau.