The Simplot family, through their patriarch, John Richard (Jack or J.R.) Simplot, founded the J. R. Simplot Company in 1929. This Idaho-based agricultural supplier is one of the largest privately-owned firms in the world.
In 1923, when he was 14, J. R. left home to work on a farm in Declo, Idaho, where he learned the best ways to feed hogs. It was after his experience there that he got into the potato and vegetable processing business.
By 1940, J. R. was owner and operator of 33 potato warehouses. His innovative nature was geared towards developing the vegetable processing world. His company landed a major deal in 1967, as a supplier of potatoes for McDonald’s. This expansion led to the construction of numerous plants, some of which later moved their focus to fertilizer development.
Quickly following J. R.’s deal with McDonald’s, his son Scott Simplot joined the company board of directors in 1970. His daughter, Gay, also works in the family business. J. R. and his first wife, Ruby Rosevear, had two other sons, Don and Richard. Ruby passed away in 1993. J. R. remarried in 1972 to opera singer Esther Becker.
Scott Simplot, in taking over as director of operations from his father, pioneered Simplot Co. as one of the first major livestock suppliers to offer beef from cloned cattle. The news made waves in 2007 around the globe, and was met with both scientific and commercial praise and environmentalist criticism.
