The cadence of global agriculture is a seasonal cycle of two complementary and concurrent phases: planting and harvest. At Simplot this plays out as a synchronized effort to feed a growing world with innovation, sustainability, and a wide variety of crops.
In this article we explore the harvest season, highlighting the advanced technologies that power it and the farmers who make it possible.
Feeding the World Using Sustainability and Technology
The harvest season is a culmination of months of planning, planting, and precision. And behind all successful yields is a grower who, all season long, wakes before dawn, analyzes field data, and makes important decisions that impact not just their farm, but the world’s food supply.
In North America, Simplot contracts with growers for more than 100,000 acres of potatoes and vegetables each year, while also cultivating thousands of acres on its own farms. Simplot Grower Solutions also advises more than 30,000 farmers on agronomic solutions to help them meet their goals.
Harvest season tells the story of how every decision, weather pattern and innovation shaped the crop. It’s a moment where the impact of technology and products become visible in yield and quality.
But this isn’t your grandparents’ harvest. Today’s growers are equipped with cutting-edge tools that make farming smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable. For instance, during harvest, farmers use technology to pull yield data directly from harvesters, enabling post-calibration and hybrid performance analysis. They can also evaluate cost per acre, yield per thousand seeds, and nutrient efficiency to refine next season’s plans. By leveraging data at each stage of harvest, farmers gain insights that help farmers feed the world with greater precision and purpose.
Simplot Farms Sr. Farm Manager Pedro Jr. Navarrete keenly understands the importance of embracing new technologies on the farm. “Innovation helps secure long-term, sustainable success for both our growers and the Company,” he pointed out. “We have to keep finding new ways to be more efficient and reduce costs to continue meeting our mission to help feed the world.”
Harvest season is also an opportunity for Simplot to evaluate the performance of the Company’s new products like Innvictis Revv-UP, a Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria product which promotes healthier rooting systems. Beyond harvest, Simplot’s SmartFarm® precision agriculture platform is a game-changer. Using GPS-referenced soil samples, satellite imagery, and moisture sensors, SmartFarm® delivers real-time agronomic recommendations that help growers optimize inputs and maximize yields for the coming year.
Transformational Technology
From drones to high-tech soil sensors, Simplot and its growers are embracing technologies that might have seemed like science fiction a generation ago.
Genetic innovation techniques like genomic selection, marker-assisted breeding, gene modification, and gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 are helping develop disease-resistant and drought-tolerant potato varieties. Smart storage uses automated climate control systems to reduce shrinkage and energy use in storage facilities. And regenerative practices like cover cropping, minimum tillage, and precision irrigation are becoming more standard practices, improving soil health and reducing environmental impact.
Powering Passion for People
Simplot’s relationships with its grower-partners are built on trust, shared values, and a commitment to progress. Farmers aren’t just feeding their communities or their countries. They’re feeding our world, around the world. And in partnership with Simplot, they’re doing it more sustainably, more efficiently, and more intelligently than ever before.
