A deep dive into learnings, stories and key takeaways from the book JR Simplot: A Billion the Hard Way.

In this episode of Upstream Ag Insights, host Shane Thomas dives deep into the legendary life and business empire of John Richard Simplot through the book A Billion the Hard Way.

From a fourteen-year-old runaway to the "wildest billionaire in the West," Simplot’s story is a masterclass in vertical integration, commodity market economics, and early technology adoption. We trace the journey of the J.R. Simplot Company from its humble beginnings in rural Idaho to its current status as a multibillion global agribusiness giant.

Learn how Simplot built his first fortune by turning "other people's waste" into valuable products — a playbook he applied to everything from orphan lambs and cull potatoes to the massive dehydration contr ...