Ever Wonder Where Sod Comes From?

     On Thursday September 12th, 2012 the Turfgrass Management students of Guelph University went on a day trip to Compact Sod in Cambridge Ontario. This trip was a real eye opener to myself and my fellow peers. The farm took up about 4,500 acres of land consisting of kentucky bluegrass, corn and soy bean. It was amazing to see the operation as a whole as Mr. Doug Mader gave us a tour around the giant facility.
    Doug explained how they will seed 500-700 acres per year with 100% kentucky bluegrass seed with most of the final product going towards residential and municipal properties and about 10% to golf courses. They also recently supplied the Rogers Centre with sod for the soccer match between Toronto FC vs Liverpool.

View of one of the bluegrass fields with a sprayer.

A highlight of the trip for myself was seeing the sod cutter in action. This machine cuts the sod into rolls and automatically leaves a full skid behind it. It is capable of cutting 1400 sq ft of sod an hour. (Video Below)

Autostacker