2025 Impact Awards: Bret Nedrow

BRET NEDROW

Senior director, global raw procurement, J.R. Simplot Co.

Hometown: Ashton, Idaho

Potatoes are in Bret Nedrow’s blood.

Born and raised on a potato farm to second-generation (mother Mary) and first-generation (dad Dick) seed growers, Nedrow felt destined to make the industry his career.

“You could say there is potato juice instead of blood running through my veins,” said Nedrow, whose career with international agriculture company J.R. Simplot began in 2020.

After completing his graduate degree at the University of Idaho, Nedrow went straight to work with spuds as a raw inspection supervisor for Nestle USA. At Simplot, he’s held roles including raw product procurement manager, senior manager of raw development and sustainability and director of raw product. In his current role, he leads Simplot Global Food’s raw procurement team.

Nedrow’s experience at Simpot has given him a global perspective on the importance of potatoes through encounters with coworkers, researchers, potato organizations and — most importantly — growers.

“This has given me a wide lens to view how important potatoes, and agriculture, is to the world,” Nedrow said. “The more I travel around our world, the more I see that potato people have much more in common than not.”

It’s a viewpoint — and a track record — that would make his parents proud, even if their son’s career may have taken an unexpected twist. Dick and Mary Nedrow advised him to work somewhere besides the family farm for a few years, Bret said. 

“In hindsight that may not have worked out the way they wanted, but the family farm continues on regardless,” he said. “My sister and her husband, Shawna and Sean Maupin, are continuing the farming tradition, making them third-generation potato growers, and their son Hayden will be the fourth.”

Nedrow’s parents remain his biggest influences, along with Joe Guenthner, his graduate advisor. And nurturing the connections that began in his childhood have been a key to his success.

“The potato world is a small industry. Networking among fellow passionate potato people broadens and strengthens your skill set,” Nedrow said. “Take the opportunities to get outside your own area and meet new people and be involved in organizations to help steer the industry.”