Roger Harold Ball was born in rural Southeast Idaho in 1940, growing up with a love for livestock and a well-run operation. After graduating with a master's degree from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, he and his wife Marsha Zundel Ball packed the car and the kids and headed to the University of Illinois for a post-graduate degree in meat science and chemistry. In 1968, armed with his passion for the meat industry and a well-rounded education, Roger and Marsha returned to Idaho Falls to purchase and operate a small local meat processing plant on the banks of the Snake River called Taylor Meats.

As the decade was coming to a close, so too was the life expectancy of the small-town meat packing plant, as the industry consolidated itself to such centrally located towns as Omaha, Nebraska.  A plant fire in the early 1970’s presented Roger with a question and an opportunity – rebuild the plant as a packing plant or retool and be reborn as a meat snack plant? His background and education both lent themselves well to the newly emerging business of retail jerky and meat snacks. Armed with some ideas and recipes, King B Jerky emerged from the ashes of Taylor Meats. It was literally a situation where a fun college hobby and was spun into a booming enterprise. Roger’s proprietary recipes, production techniques and packaging concepts ensured that he was first-to-market with a moist and tender jerky. Suddenly King B made it possible for people of all ages to enjoy a high protein snack.

Initially, this required Roger and his family’s involvement in every aspect of the business whether it was procuring the best buy and cuts of raw meat, spicing and cooking the jerky, packaging and labeling the jerky, making boxes or hitting the road to sell this new idea and concept to any bowling alley, bar or gas station that would listen.  As King B’s reputation grew along with annual sales, Roger applied himself to improving quality and new innovations. As a result, other companies were also created and branched off from King B such as Precision Plastics, Crown Label and even current MLM giant Melaleuca.

Roger and his family are considered pioneers in the world of meat snacks, as King B led the way in modern packaging techniques, product preservation, quality control and innovative ways to maximize profits from the entire meat trimming and cooking operation. A game changer for King B was Roger’s ingenuity and creation of a shredded beef jerky that became known as “Jerky Stuff” and immediately thrust King B into the national spotlight. Orders poured in from every state in the country, many of which had never previously considered King B nor any of the product line. This product stemmed from the need to somehow market an unmarketable leftover from each production batch and turn it into one of the greatest value-added products in the history of US snack food.

At the turn of the century, Roger began to sense the impending need in the US for safer and more natural/organic products that would instill even greater confidence in the buyers and final consumers. After carefully considering various offers from competing brands to buy King B Inc., it was sold to Jack Links. This sale opened a door to turn over all Ball Family ranches and livestock to a more natural and organic style of operation and in turn, create a jerky brand that would represent that same concept in the retail arena. Golden Valley Natural and sister company Healthy Partner Pet Snacks accomplished exactly that. Jerky enthusiasts and pet owners nationwide came to rely on both companies to provide meat snacks that consist of all the high protein/low fat attributes they desire without any of the preservatives, unnatural ingredients, added growth hormones, MSG or nitrites.

Many of the products produced and shipped from the Ball Family facilities in Idaho Falls were branded under private brand names and sold through those nationally known chains. Roger's bison ranching business known as Intermountain Bison was directly fueled by his private-label jerky customer’s demand for all-natural buffalo jerky and has made him one of the largest single private owners of bison in the world.

An important facet of Roger Ball’s legacy is his love of ranching and getting those wholesome products from his high-mountain ranches to your plate. His lifetime interest and reverence for the North American Bison is made manifest at the Ball Family ranches along with premium breeds of beef cattle. In an effort to better streamline this dream and concept, a meat packing plant was constructed in Idaho Falls in 2022. Intermountain Packing was built to handle all types of cattle but specifically to address the need for a quality bison processing plant in North America. For that reason, it has become a processing destination for bison throughout the Mountain West and Canada.

At the age of 84, there seems to be no slowing down Roger’s love for the meat industry or his involvement in it.

To celebrate the Meat Industry Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024, MIHOF is once again hosting its annual in-person honors ceremony, with this year’s induction reception planned to take place July 25, 2025, from 5-7 p.m. during the AAMP American Convention of Meat Processors & Suppliers’ Exhibition in Kansas City, Mo.

The National Provisioner invites all meat and poultry industry professionals to join us in commemorating Roger H. Ball with our industry’s highest honor.

Learn more about the Meat Industry Hall of Fame and this year’s in-person induction reception honors ceremony here.