Richard Elmer Rominger Papers, 1977-2000

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Summary

Creators:
Rominger, Richard Elmer, 1927-
Abstract:
Correspondence, clippings, budget papers, agendas, and meeting notes relating to farmer and civil servant Richard Rominger's work with the Department of Food and Agriculture; files on pesticides, water appropriation, soil erosion, farm labor, and natural resources.
Extent:
144 linear feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Richard Elmer Rominger Papers, D-087, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

Correspondence, clippings, budget papers, agendas, and meeting notes relating to Rominger's work with the Department of Food and Agriculture; files on pesticides, water appropriation, soil erosion, farm labor, and natural resources.

Biographical / historical:

Richard Rominger was a fourth-generation farmer from Yolo County, California. His family emigrated from Germany to California over one hundred years ago. Born in Woodland, California in 1927, Rominger was raised in Winters, a farming community located about 15 miles southwest of Woodland. After serving with the U.S. Navy during World War II, Rominger attended UC Davis where he was actively involved in the university band and majored in agricultural studies.

Rominger served as the director of the Yolo County Farm Bureau for 25 years and as president from 1971 to 1973. Additionally, he co-founded and served as founding president of the Yolo Land Trust and served on the board of the American Farmland Trust for several years. Rominger was also the chairman of the Yolo County Water Resources Board from 1971 to 1977. In 1977, Rominger was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to be the director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, serving in this position until 1982. Years later, in 1993, Rominger was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the deputy secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., a position he held until 2001. He was appointed to the Board of Regents of the University of California in 2004 and served on the California Roundtable on Agriculture.

During his time as a part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the USDA, Rominger confronted drought and agricultural labor issues. He also advocated for the National Emergency Drought Commission and the National Organic Standards that were new at the time. Rominger also led the USDA in farm conservation efforts such as combating soil erosion and finding ways to help farmers with long term pay-offs, not just by paying subsidies.

In his retirement, Rominger continued to raise awareness on issues such as drought and the impact climate change was having on agricultural production. He received many awards from UC Davis for his work in agriculture and was named Agriculturalist of the Year at the California State Fair. He also received a Distinguished Service Award from the California Farm Bureau, commemorating his commitment to the agricultural community.

Rominger retired from government service to his family’s farm in Yolo County where he continued to advocate for the agricultural community. Rominger passed away December 21, 2020, and is survived by his wife, kids, and grandchildren.

Processing information:

Liz Phillips encoded this finding aid with help from student assistant Aditi Sinha. The biography was written by Sacramento State Public History graduate student Katie Kirschner.

Physical location:
Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Richard Elmer Rominger Papers, D-087, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Website