Simpson Seeds a trusted, Family-Owned Company
For more than 40 years, Simpson Seeds has been nourishing the world by selling millions of tonnes of lentils while sticking to its core values of family, quality, integrity and innovation. The company started out as a small family-run operation in Saskatchewan in the 1970s. When the Simpson family had its main farm southeast of Moose Jaw, father Jim saw the need to conduct more marketing for their products, to get away from the Canadian Wheat Board and diversify what they were growing. Meanwhile, son Greg had just graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and acquired a job with Agriculture Canada. He inspected seed growers in southwest Saskatchewan, where he developed the idea to grow seeds, clean seeds on their farm, and then retail them to help diversify the family farm. Greg began growing peas in 1975, and by 1980, the family had experience to take on lentils and become a mixed farm. On Aug. 13, 1979, Simpson Seeds was incorporated, and the family built a plant on their property in the winter of 1980. In 1992, the family bought property on Moose Jaw’s North Service Road — which had nothing on it then — and built a cleaning
Brothers John and Greg Simpson pose for a picture in front of their seed cleaning plant, which is located on the North Service Road.
and processing plant. They also expanded the rail spur so they could have access to the railroad to ship their products. The company bought Kyle Seeds and its elevator in southwest Saskatchewan in 2008, along with that company’s processing plant in Swift Current. Simpson Seeds improved the plant, before making a major expansion three years ago. The company later shut down the elevator in Kyle. Simpson Seeds expanded into organic seeds in 2018 due to major customer demand, especially from its European customers. While the Simpson family farm southeast of Moose Jaw has now been certified as an organic site, the company’s main focus is still on lentils.
Farmers trust Simpson Seeds for two reasons: it is family and it is a community Canadian family business. What’s also important is the company meets its obligations when serving customers, wherever and whomever they may be. With the earth’s population expected to grow to nine billion people in 2050, many people will need protein to sustain themselves. Canada is well-positioned to feed the world; the future looks promising. There is the potential for Simpson Seeds to expand into the fibre market. Besides high-protein foods such as lentils and chickpeas, fibre is also known to be healthy, so the opportunity exists for this market, too.
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29 High Street West • Moose Jaw, SK • (306) 692-1812 1-888-692-1812 • www.folgizan.com Protecting you and your family since 1976 22 2020 ExploreMooseJaw.com
