J.R. Simplot Company

The J.R. Simplot Company is a family-owned, privately held international food and agriculture company headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with more than 18,000 employees and operations in more than 60 countries, including major operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina and China. Its integrated portfolio spans farming, ranching and cattle production, food processing and food brands, phosphate mining and fertilizer manufacturing, and crop-input distribution.

The company traces its start to 1929, when J.R. Simplot acquired an electric potato sorter in a coin toss in the farm country of southern Idaho. Its fertilizer business began in 1944 with the construction of the Don Plant in Pocatello, Idaho, named after J.R.'s son Don and still a cornerstone of the region with more than 400 plant employees. Construction of the Smoky Canyon phosphate mine in Afton, Wyoming, followed in 1982, and operations today produce 1,000,000 tons of phosphate, enough to feed 10 million acres of crops.

On the distribution side, the first Soilbuilder stores opened in 1945 and grew into Simplot Grower Solutions, which today runs some 250 stores in the United States and Canada and supports more than 38,000 growers. The 1967 handshake between J.R. Simplot and McDonald's founder Ray Kroc began a frozen-fry supply partnership that continues today, and in 2025 the company joined forces with Belgian potato manufacturer Clarebout to extend its reach into Europe and the Middle East. Garrett Lofto serves as president and chief executive.