Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
John Simpson is a rural Saskatchewan community member trying to make a difference for his fellow agricultural producers. Along with his brothers Tom and Greg, he’s an economic leader.
Simpson Seeds in Moose Jaw has been processing pulse crops since 1979. This is a family-owned company that has, over the last 25 years, developed a reputation as a reliable shipper and supplier of high quality pulse products. They have shipped to 50 different countries in all, and still do so to 20 to 25 countries on a regular basis.
“We are basically an outlet for producers to market their lentils. These account for about 90 per cent of our business—we also work with peas and chickpeas. And we supply seeds for growers, meaning we bring in the latest varieties of green and red lentils that are developed through the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, and we propagate them from the breeder seed, right down to producing certified seed,” Simpson says.
“We have two facilities located in the heart of lentil, pea and chickpea production country. The main plant is located on Petrolia Road in east Moose Jaw, and we have a rail site plant right on the CP tracks on the service road along Highway 1 in Moose Jaw.”
Simpson Seeds has become one of the largest exporters of pulses in the province. The brothers’ company has enjoyed steady growth over time. It takes years to establish the relationship with the buyers, and the growers as well—one needs reliable suppliers.
“The original site was our farm location, just a few miles from Moose Jaw,” explains Simpson. “In 1992, we developed a new location where we can both process pulses and load bulk hopper cars and bagged boxcars with 100-pound bags.
“Just the fact that we can give local agricultural producers another option to traditional cereal grains gives us something to be proud of. We supply pulses around the world, and everywhere we go, people comment on the reliability and quality of our Saskatchewan product. This gives us much satisfaction—this and just understanding better how the wheels of the world turn.”
These happen to be particularly difficult times for the industry, with pulse prices being at some of their lowest levels. There is an oversupply of pulses right now. Much of it is just is sitting in bins and likely will be there for some time.
Low prices affect revenues for the industry as a whole. For Simpson Seeds, it is just another opportunity to excel in the quality of product and service they deliver. After all, the Simpson brothers are in this business for the long run.
For more information, contact:
John Simpson
Vice President
Simpson Seeds
(306) 693-2132
http://www.simpsonseeds.com/index.php
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