ALL SEASONS TURF GRASS A WELCOMING HOST FOR THE TPI FIELD DAY
By Suz Trusty
Irene Gavranovic Sipes and her hus- band Scott of All Seasons Turf Grass, Inc. are excited to be hosting TPI’s 2016 Field Day at their 380 acre Brook- shire farm just west of Houston. They consider inviting turfgrass producers from around the world to see their op- eration a great opportunity. Expect a welcome as big as the heart of Texas as the Gavranovic family does what they do best—work together—this time to make February 24th a great day for all.
Attendees will see a plethora of equip- ment, including harvesters, mowers, tractors, forklifts, tillers, installers, cultivators and more—much of it in ac- tion. In addition, equipment and static displays will provide attendees with the opportunity to check out a wide range of products and services. And they’ll meet the Gavranovic family and many of their staff members.
Starting Small The Gavranovic family has been farm- ing in southeast Texas for over four decades. Willie Gavranovic and his wife Gladys started in the turfgrass business in 1978, adding a few acres of St. Augustine to the row crops they were growing on their homestead in Wharton. Their three children—Irene, William, Jr. and Rachel—grew up work- ing on the farm.
With a lot of hard work, the family business, Horizon Turf Grass, Inc., has grown from that small field of sod to approximately 3,500 acres of turfgrass production spread between nine farms
The Gavranovic Family (from left to right) Back row: William Gavranovic, Jr., Irene Gavranovic-Sipes, Scott Sipes, Ryan Weaver, Rachel Weaver Seated in middle: Willie Gavranovic Sr. and Gladys Gavranovic Kids: Haley Gavranovic (kneeling), Caroline Gavranovic (seated), Flynn Weaver (standing), Barron Weaver (seated-dark sweater), Seth Weaver (seated-light sweater), Connor Gavranovic (standing), Suri Weaver (seated on chair) and Garrett Gavranovic (kneeling).
sites. It’s about 250 miles from the fur- thest point in the cluster of farms at the Wharton, Burr and Lane City locations, southwest of Houston, to the Cameron farm, located about half-way between Austin and Waco. There’s a farm in Clay, near the College Station home of Texas A&M University. The Sealy farm is about 14 miles west of the All Seasons farm in Brookshire. The other two farms also are near Houston, in Monaville, just north of Brookshire. As the Horizon website,
www.horizongrass.com, states, “With nine farm locations strategically close to major cities, your ideal turfgrass is never too far away.”
A Family Affair Willie heads Horizon and, as Scott says, “He keeps everyone on their toes. His work day begins before sunrise and seldom ends before dark. He’s happy as can be when he’s out on a tractor and there’s no telling when he’s going to show up at one of the farms. The whole Gavranovic family works like that and they’re all involved in the busi- ness in some way.”
TPI TURF NEWS • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
Rachel manages the Horizon Turf central office and her husband, Ryan Weaver, focuses on handling daily farm management operations.
William inherited Willie’s love of “work- ing the dirt” in row crop farming as well as his passion for the turfgrass side of the business. He attended Wharton County Junior College (Willie had graduated from there) and went on to Texas A&M University to study agricultural eco- nomics. So, as well as their work with Horizon Turf Grass, Willie and William team up to farm about 6,500 acres of row crops. They always grow corn and cotton, and have grown some soybeans, milo and rice, basing their crop produc- tion on market conditions just as they do on the turfgrass side. Raising cattle is another part of the family business.
Harvesting slabs under the big Texas sky.
19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68