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J.R. Simplot Company
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| J.R. Simplot Company | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Boise, Idaho |
| Type: | Privately-held Corporation |
| Top official: | Bill Whitacre, President and CEO |
| Founder(s): | J.R. Simplot |
| Year founded: | 1929 |
| Employees: | 10,000 |
| Website: | Official website |
J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) is a privately-held corporation based in Boise, Idaho. Simplot, founded in 1929, describes itself as "one of the largest privately held food and agribusiness companies in the nation."[1]
Simplot is a vertically integrated, multi-agro industry corporation specializing in crop seed and nutrition, foods, turf production, livestock food and supply, agricultural research and development, and industrial chemical processing, such as ammonias, sulphates, and Nitric acid.
Background
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Simplot Company was founded in 1929 by Jack R. Simplot, who was 20 years old at the time. The company was born out of a farming venture he had begun when he was 14, after dropping out of the 8th grade and moving to Declo, Idaho.[2][3] In the 1940s, Simplot had become the largest shipper of fresh potatoes as well as selling dehydrated onions and potatoes to the military. During World War II, the shortage of fertilizer forced Simplot to produce its own in Pocatello, Idaho. In the late 1940s, Simplot developed a method to freeze potatoes, which gave Simplot the opportunity to become the exclusive supplier of french fries to McDonalds, then still a young company.[2] Simplot provides about one-third of the french fries sold in the U.S. today.[4]
Simplot Company generates $6 billion in revenue annually and specializes in a number fields. Simplot operates seven food processing and packaging plants in Idaho, Washington, North Dakota and Arkansas. The facilities produce potato products, such as french fries, hash browns and tater gems.[5] Simplot operates many fertilizer manufacturing and distribution facilities across twelve states in the west. Simplot uses the deepwater Rivergate Terminal in Portland, Oregon for storage (approx. 25 acres) and distribution of fertilizer.[6][5]
SImplot operates three mining facilities in Utah, Nevada and Wyoming; the mines produce phosphate and silica. Simplot took over the silica operation in Nevada in 1955; silica is used primarily in the production of grout and glass.[7]
Simplot Company runs two cattle feedlots, one each in Idaho and Washington, as well as five ranches across the western U.S.[5]
Simplot's turf-grass company, Jacklin Seed, is located in Post Falls, Idaho. The company specializes in research, development, production and distribution of grass. The company distributes to over 70 countries.[5]
Simplot Western Stockman's is Simplot's livestock division, which produces feed, animal health, grooming supplies, pest control and other similar products.[8] Stockmen's has retail locations in Idaho and Oregon.[5]
In addition to their production facilities, Simplot has 40 farms in Idaho and Washington with 82,500 acres of farm land. Simplot raises crops such as hay, potatoes, corn, wheat, sweet corn and barley.[9] Simplot's ranching operations raise more than 30K mother cows in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The ranch holdings are among the largest in the U.S., according to the Simplot.[10]
Activity
In 2013, Simplot's Plant Sciences division engineered a potato that did not develop "black bruises," which companies like McDonalds reject. Moreover, the newly engineered potato is designed to have less of the naturally-occuring cancer-causing acrylamide. Simplot was quick to point out that, unlike Monsanto's engineered potatoes, Simplot's were altered with potato genes, which meant that there was no synthetic bacteria.[11] In 2015, Simplot got approval from the USDA on a second generation GMO potato that resists the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine.[12]
The Idaho Statesman reported in May 2015, that Simplot was awaiting approval for a 300k square-foot meat packing facility near Kuna, Idaho. The plant is reported to likely employ about 600 workers and process about 1,700 head of cattle a day.[13]
In December 2015, Simplot settled an alleged Clean Air Act violation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice. The allegation argued that excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide emissions at five plant locations were major pollutants and violated the act. As part of the settlement, Simplot will spend $41.5 million in pollution controls as well as pay a civil penalty of $899,000. The new measures to cut sulfur dioxide emissions will reduce pollution by about 50 percent or around 2,540 tons per year less across all five plants. Simplot released a press statement stating that "while they denied the allegations by [the] EPA the company agreed to meet lower emission limitations at all its plants, rather than proceed with litigation."[14]
In February 2016, Simplot announced a partnership between Simplot and Airbus Defense and Space, a part of the Airbus Group. The partnership's aim is to develop a system of real time crop information delivery. The press release stated that Simplot's access to high resolution satellite imagery will allow Simplot to produce higher yields of crops. The information will help farmers to customize seed density, fertilizer rates, water ratio, pesticide use and disease control among other things to help in the productivity of crops. Simplot stated that "[t]he use of data-driven agronomy will allow farmers to do their part in feeding the growing world population with a safe, healthy and abundant food supply."[15]
Leadership
The following is a list of the board of directors for Simplot:[16]
- Scott Simplot, Chairman and Executive Committee member
- Bill Whitacre, Director and Executive Committee member
- Gay Simplot, Director and Executive Committee member
- Ted Simplot, Director and Executive Committee member
- Debbie McDonald, Director and Executive Committee member
- Dale Dunn
- Steve Beebe
- Joe Marshall
- Richard Hormaechea
- Terry Uhling
- John Otter
Finances
According to Forbes, Simplot Company is in the top 100 of America's largest private companies, with earnings of $6 billion dollars a year.[4] According to Simplot, their fertilizer facilities and operations collectively contribute over $120 million to the local economies in northern California, eastern Idaho, and western Wyoming.[17][18][19] Their mining facilities contribute $70 million to the local economies in Wyoming and Nevada.[20][7]
The following is a breakdown of Simplot's annual lobbying spending from 2010 to 2015.[21]
| Annual lobbying spending, 2010-2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Spending | ||
| 2015 | $360,000 | ||
| 2014 | $376,000 | ||
| 2013 | $385,000 | ||
| 2012 | $375,000 | ||
| 2011 | $330,000 | ||
| 2010 | $241,000 | ||
Media
Top influencers by state
Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect popular perceptions. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few.
In 2015, Ballotpedia identified J.R. Simplot Company as a top influencer by state. We identified top influencers across the country through several means, including the following:
- Local knowledge of our professional staff
- Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum
- Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms J.R. Simplot Company. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Simplot, "Home," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Simplot, "Our Founder," accessed November 2, 2105
- ↑ Idaho Public Television, "Idaho, A Portrait," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, "John Simplot and Family," September 20, 2007
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Simplot, "U.S. Operations," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Rivergate Terminal," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Simplot, "Overton Silica Production Facility," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Simplot Western Stockman's," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Simplot Farming Operations," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Ranching Operations," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Huffington Post, "J.R. Simplot Company Bets On Biotech Potatoes In Idaho," July 14, 2013
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "USDA OKs Simplot’s 2nd-generation GMO potato," August 28, 2015
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "Simplot requests permits to build meat packing plant near Kuna," May 12, 2015
- ↑ Local News 8, "J.R. Simplot Company to spend $41.5 million to reduce emissions," December 3, 2015
- ↑ GISuser, "Airbus Defense and Space and J.R. Simplot Company Partner to Deliver Crop Information," February 24, 2016
- ↑ Simplot, "Board of Directors," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Lathrop-Helm," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Don Plant," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Simplot Phosphates," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Simplot, "Smoky Canyon Mine," accessed November 2, 2015
- ↑ Open Secrets, "J.R. Simplot Co.," accessed March 9, 2016
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