CHARLOTTE – Sod is crowding out corn, cows and wheat on some North Carolina farms to meet a voracious demand for grass that doesn’t need time to grow.
"This is clearly a case of the grass being greener," said Gene Maples, executive director of the Turfgrass Council of North Carolina. "All you have to do is drive around a few subdivisions and you can see."
The number of sod farms in North Carolina has nearly doubled in the past two years, to about 50, industry officials estimate.
Between 1992 and 1997, the last year the U.S. Department of Agriculture calculated figures, sod production increased faster in North Carolina than in any other state except Idaho and Montana. Sod farms covered 4,500 acres in North Carolina in 1997, up from 1,700 acres in 1992.
The rise in sod farming is directly related to the Carolinas’ phenomenal building boom, said Charles Peacock, a professor of turf management at North Carolina State University.
Developers who once planted their own grass seed in subdivisions now are more likely to sod new yards.
Rapid golf course construction also has boosted sales. Even the North Carolina Department of Transportation is laying centipede grass under guardrails because it is convenient and requires less maintenance than other kinds of grass.
Sod farm sales in the Carolinas reached $33.2 million in 1997, according to USDA figures. Experts say the number is now much higher.
Tony Harper, a builder by trade who used to grow corn, started AFH Farms six years ago after realizing that the Charlotte region’s sod supply wasn’t matching demand. He planted 20 acres of sod at the outset on the Mecklenburg-Cabarrus line, harvested 300 acres last year and by 2005 hopes to double that amount.
Likewise, dairy farmers Allan and Ted Williams of Olin sowed 10 acres of sod last year, with plans to grow 15 acres this year. The Williamses, who still have some beef cattle, could plant as many as 300 acres in Iredell, the state’s leading dairy county.
The Williamses and others have discovered sod farming is just as demanding and precarious as traditional agriculture. It involves trimming the large fields several times a week and constantly monitoring fertilizers and watering.
Besides unpredictable weather, sod farmers worry about a single weed sneaking onto their property. It’s also not cheap. Allan Williams figures he and his sons invested more than $100,000 in equipment to launch their farm, including a $48,000 harvester that undercuts the grass and soil, then bundles it into tightly wound spirals. They still have to buy an expensive truck to haul their sod.
Builders say sod eliminates angry calls from home buyers whose seeded lawns washed away. Sod is quick, too. Some farms offer same-day delivery. A seeded lawn takes at least four weeks to thrive.
"The day we lay the sod, they have a pretty, green front yard," said Bill Miley, Colony Homes president in Charlotte. "We don’t have to wait for the seed to germinate – or hope that it germinates."
Price is the main drawback. Builders pay about $200 to seed the front yard of a home on a typical lot measuring just less than a quarter-acre, Miley said. Sodding the same lawn costs about $1,000, with the costs passed along to the home buyer.
