A G-Mac’s custom seed treatment unit loads a truck with treated peas in a 2020 video screengrab. (G-Mac’s AgTeam via YouTube)

Simplot to buy western Saskatchewan ag retail chain

G-Mac's AgTeam to rebrand under Simplot name

An independent crop input retail chain in western Saskatchewan is set to become part of agrifood firm J.R. Simplot’s retail arm. Simplot announced Nov. 15 it has a deal in place to buy G-Mac’s AgTeam, which owns and operates 15 outlets in the region, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which will see the G-Mac’s […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Simplot to supersize Portage la Prairie fry plant

U.S. agrifood giant J.R. Simplot plans to bulk up its potato processing footprint in southern Manitoba with a $460 million plant expansion. The company and the provincial government on Wednesday announced construction will begin this spring on a 280,000-square foot expansion at its 180,000-square foot french fry processing plant at Portage la Prairie. The expansion, […] Read more

The three varieties in Simplot’s Innate Gen 2 lineup are, from left to right, Burbank, Atlantic and Ranger.

Acreage low, stewardship high for GE potatoes

This year’s Canadian acreage of J.R. Simplot’s genetically engineered Innate potato will be “very small” to non-existent, according to a company spokesperson. Kerwin Bradley, director of commercial innovation for Simplot, says the company’s marketing strategy for new varieties is based on customer polls and identification of marketing channels. “We don’t plant potatoes, or give seed […] Read more


russet potato in Idaho

GM potatoes are going in the ground

Genetically engineered potatoes could claim acreage in Canada in 2017


In 2016, no acres were seeded to J.R. Simplot’s genetically engineered first-generation Innate potato lines in Canada — but industry experts say 2017 will be a different story. “Other than plot-sized production there was no commercial production in Canada this year because of the timing,” says Kevin MacIsaac, general manager at the United Potato Growers […] Read more



yellow-skinned potatoes

New GM potato gets U.S. approval

The new gm potato variety, “Innate,” is ready for the deep fryer

A genetically modified potato called “Innate” has recently made headlines in the U.S. The French fry giant J.R. Simplot’s petition for “non-regulated status” for its proprietary biotechnology process called Innate has been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although McDonalds has stated that it has no current plans to utilize GM potatoes, […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

USDA clears GMO potato with lower cancer risk

CORRECTED, Nov. 10, 2014 — Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday approved the first genetically modified potato for commercial planting in the United States in more than a decade, a move likely to draw the ire of groups opposed to artificial manipulation of foods. The so-called Innate potato, developed by the […] Read more