While being a farmer in Saskatchewan was a common occupation, changes in the Agriculture industry and others that affect it made farming a lot riskier and less profitable. Diversification was needed to improve farming practices and to find new ways to utilize the land. Our grandfather Jim Simpson and his three sons Tom, Greg and John saw an opportunity to try something new and diversify their own family farm.
That something new was growing yellow peas in 1975. Today, yellow peas are a crop grown on many farms, however at the time the Simpson boys were thought to be a little unwise for attempting to grow a different crop. It proved to be a successful venture and opened the door for other pulse crops such as lentils, peas and chickpeas. These crops are now some of the main crops grown on the Simpson farm and on other farms in the surrounding area.
Farming is typically seasonal work, where most time is spent from late April through to the middle of September seeding, spraying and harvesting the crop. This leaves a six month window in the fall and winter where growers don't have a crop to earn income, which can be extremely tough in the event of a poor crop in the previous year. It was decided that as a way of filling in the time and reducing risk during the winter months, they would build a plant to clean commercial seed for farmers. The brothers thought this would be a good way of working through the winter months, as it was a business that could be run in conjunction with the family farm operation.
The company now known as Simpson Seeds Inc. was incorporated August 13, 1979. Once again, taking a chance paid off, and the business continued to evolve. The next step came as a decision to do third party processing for export markets which lead to Simpson Seeds establishing their own client base overseas, thus, the international export program was born.
Processing and exporting a range of lentil varieties is now the focal point of the company. With growing demand for pulse crops in the early 1990's, a second location for processing was built just north of the city of Moose Jaw along the #1 Highway. This plant was opened and fully operational in 1995, with a second cleaning line being implemented in 2002. This location provides direct access to rail which allows ease of shipment to markets through the ports of Vancouver and Montreal. Currently Simpson Seeds exports to approximately 70 countries around the world.
The newest project is the introduction of a red lentil splitting line at the highway location. The project is being led by the third generation of Simpson's who have come into the business over the past seven years. Tyler, Trevor, Jamie, Elyce and Nicole are excited to have the opportunity to again diversify and add to the existing business to keep the company growing in a very dynamic special crops market. The third generation is excited to continue to move the company forward and learn from the 29 years of experience Tom, Greg and John have to offer.
