He worked his way through Concordia College and graduated in 1964. He joined the family farming business that same year, and he and his father, now known as R.D. Offutt & Son, began to actively expand their farming business with a focus on potato production. Over the next ten years, they began purchasing, renting, or partnering to increase the amount of land that they had at their disposal. In the late 60s, they opened a John Deere branch. This dealership grew into RDO Equipment, Inc., the largest John Deere dealership in the United States. In the late 70s, the family business branched out into French-fry production, and they are now the primary supplier of frozen French-fries for the McDonald's corporation. The company has since expanded their holdings from the upper mid-west, to both coasts, and the south. As of 2012, they are the most successful potato production agribusiness in the world.
