Expanding Their Turf

Craig Betterly remembers being teased as a kid about his family raising grass in lieu of traditional crops. But look who's laughing now. (Photos By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

"To start up a full-fledged sod farm, you need a substantial investment in machinery," he said, estimating that even a small 200-acre farm would need more than $1 million worth of mowing and irrigation equipment, forklifts and delivery trucks -- not to mention the auto-harvesting machines that average $250,000 apiece. Sod is no quick-turnaround crop, either, requiring 12 to 18 months to develop a mature root structure that will survive the farm-to-lawn transplant.

Then there's the weather, that fickle scourge of every farmer. Sod farming requires massive amounts of water, especially in summer, and growers need access to streams and rivers or deep wells to irrigate during droughts. Local environmental groups say that heavy water use and fertilizer runoff are concerns associated with sod just as with many other crops. Warpinski and other growers are quick to tout their product as an eco-boosting counterbalance to global warming and pollution.

"Home lawns are very beneficial -- by producing oxygen, controlling erosion and creating a cooling effect," he said.

Disgruntled homeowners and embittered yard buffs who've had bad sod experiences have learned that there's more to lawn care than simply rolling out the grass. Soils need to be tested for pH levels, drainage and fertility. Fresh-laid sod needs lots of water to take root. "It's like a transplant of a heart or anything else," said Betterly, who operates Centreville Sod Inc. "If you don't get a transfusion, it won't work."

Despite sod's newfound popularity, leaner times could be ahead for the industry with the market for new homes flagging. Unlike some crops that can be left unharvested and then plowed under to fertilize the soil during a weak market, turf must be cut within one to two years of reaching maturity -- or risk infestation from grubs and other pests.

Growers who have diversified by planting blends more suitable for golf courses and sports fields -- using more Bermuda grass, for example -- will enjoy some protection from a downturn in residential demand.

"From the beginning, I wanted to sell grass in any capacity," said Eddie Moore, 26, of Collins Wharf Sod Farm in Eden. "I wanted to be in the sports market, the housing market, the golf market. We've always been successful in diversifying the crops we grew."

Moore, a fourth-generation farmer, said his grandfather was initially skeptical of his plan to stop producing food and start growing turf. "He said, 'I've spent my life trying to kill grass in my fields, and now you want to grow it?' " Moore recalled. The family went from having 60 acres of sod in 1999 to 450 today, and its grass now covers the fields of RFK Stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the PGA-level TPC Avenel golf course in Potomac. "My grandfather has done a one-eighty," Moore said.

As Paul House, a Nokesville farmer named the 2006 Virginia Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year, put it, "you do what you have to do to survive." When House started raising dairy cattle, corn and soybeans 40 years ago, 125 dairy farms dotted Prince William. Today, his Kettle Wind Farm is one of two. He planted 100 acres of sod in 1997 and now spends most of his time managing a 1,300-acre turf operation just across the road from Betterly. "It's a good living," he said. "My commute is out my back door."

Besides, House said, Nokesville soil was never very good for growing grain. "The great soils are in Manassas," he said, "but it's all covered with housing now."