THE GRASS IS ALWAYS
GREENER Demand outgrows supply in the sod industry
F
BY BILL TREMBLAY
or Canada’s sod growers, the COVID-19 pandemic created an abundance of opportunity, possibly too much opportunity. When COVID-19 and its travel-related restrictions hindered the ability to vacation, homeowners focused their attention — and their disposable income — on their properties instead of their wanderlust. “It’s the lockdown effect. People can’t travel so they’re focused on creating their own little oasis in their backyard. Everybody’s landscaping,” said Brett Jeacle, president of the Nursery Sod Growers Association of Ontario and director of revenue operations at Manderley Turf Products Inc. “It’s a perfect storm that nobody saw coming, obviously.” Before the pandemic, the sod market was shrinking. Some growers opted to sell their inventory and leave the industry in favour of higher-demand crops. Others downsized their sod crops to diversify their product offering. After COVID-19 restrictions came into effect, Manderley Turf Products, which operates in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec, noticed its customers’ orders increased dramatically. “All of a sudden we come into the COVID era, and the script flips entirely,” Jeacle said. “We were talking about initiatives to preserve the market we had. Then, all of a sudden, the market is growing for the first time in decades.” When lockdowns became a reality, Fairgreen Sod Farms, located in Markham and Oro-Medonte, Ont., was deciding how many acres of land they would dedicate to sod production. With garden centres and home improvement stores limited to curbside pickup, Fairgreen opted to increase cash crop production, rather than sod. “We ended up taking 300 acres that would have gone into sod, and put it into corn and soybeans. Obviously, we guessed wrong,” said Matt Gauthier, farm manager at Fairgreen Sod Farms. “We thought the pandemic would be
22 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
bad news for the industry. We were thinking we weren’t going to have a season.” By the end of 2020, Fairgreen would cut 700 acres of sod, but only plant new grass seed on 400 acres. Fortunately, 2018 marked the largest amount of seed planted in Fairgreen’s history. “We got lucky, we had extra inventory going into it,” Gauthier said.
DELAYED REACTION
The remedy to sod supply isn’t as simple as growing more grass, since the time from seed to sod may take as long as three years and usually a minimum of 18-months. If we could put more sod in the ground today, and have it ready for Friday, we would have done that,” Jeacle said. As well, grass isn’t harvested in the same manner as other crops. “It’s not like corn or soybean where it’s all about plant health. For us, it’s all about density,” said Mike Schiedel, manager at Greenhorizons Sod Farms. “We need a healthy grass plant that’s dense enough without weeds or holes that can make a roll. You need the root structure. If you start harvesting sod prematurely before you should, you start to bring your yield down.” Sod is also a uniquely local product with a minimal shelf life, meaning importing isn’t an option. “When we harvest it and cut its roots off, it’s stacked on a skid, and the clock starts ticking,” Schiedel explained. With farms in Hamilton, Cambridge and London, Ontario, Greenhorizons operates about 6,000 acres with upwards of 4,000 acres green in grass per year. The company supplies landscapers, commercial properties, municipalities and homebuilders. Throughout its diversified customer base, demand has increased between 30 to 50 per cent.
