TPI FIELD DAY HOST SMR FARMS— GROWING STRONG SINCE 1922

Editor’s note: Tis article is a compilation of background information from the SMR Farms website, news postings, and a phone interview with Gary Bradshaw, President of SMR Farms. Compiled by Suz Trusty, co-editor of Turf News.

Gary Bradshaw is President of SMR Farms.

Gary Bradshaw, President of SMR Farms, and his entire team are looking forward to being the host farm for TPI’s 2017 Field Day on February 22. SMR Farms is one of southwest Florida’s most successful land management and agri- businesses, continuing a long tradition of delivering a variety of products on the

32,000-acre property.

As their website, www.smrfarms.com states, it started in 1922, when the Uihlein family, founders of the Schlitz Brewing Company, acquired over 48 square miles of land in Florida, east of I-75 in Manatee and Sarasota counties, at the southern reaches of the greater Tampa Bay area. Te Uihleins originally pursued timber and ranching activities on the property, branching out over the years to create what is today Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc. (SMR), the parent company of SMR Farms.

SMR Farms is the agri-business arm of the company which includes the turfgrass, tree, landscape, citrus and cattle operations. Bradshaw says, “It all works together with the parent company. Te highlight is Lakewood Ranch, an 8,500-acre master-planned community encompassing all aspects of residential and commercial development. SMR Aggregates, the company’s mining operation, provides materials that have been used for building foundations, road bases, asphalt, concrete block and various filtration applications. Te mining opens up the ground for the lakefront area. Lakewood Ranch home prices range from the millions down to the upper hundred thousands. Many of the amenities have been developed to both enhance the community and draw potential buyers to it.”

A prime example is the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch, which opened in April of 2011. With Celebration Bermudagrass on all 22 fields (eight of which are lighted for nighttime use), and more than 140 acres, it can support a variety of field-related events, hosting soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, rugby, archery, senior games,

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Ultimate Frisbee, Special Olympics, flag football, youth football, Frisbee golf and punt/pass/kick football on local, state, regional and national levels.

Bradshaw says, “Te Premier Sports Campus hosts an invitational soccer tournament in late November that brings in 30-to-40,000 people. In 2016, SMR invested in upgrades adding stadium seating for 3,000 to the main field, along with restrooms, a concession stand, coaches’ area, press box and injury treatment room. Te added information center makes it easy for visitors to find out more about Lakewood Ranch and talk with realtors about the properties.”

Bradshaw reports SMR’s turfgrasses also are showcased in the development’s 54 holes of championship golf at Royal Lakes and Kings Dunes golf courses and Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club; the Sarasota Cricket Club; the nine world-class polo fields at the renowned Sarasota Polo Club; and on the many homes, commercial properties and public spaces within the community.

SMR Farms’ Leadership Team Bradshaw initially was focused on the mound, not the turf. He was a right-handed pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers Double A minor league team when he tore his right rotator cuff, ending his professional baseball career. “I became a state trooper in 1974, working side jobs in my off-duty hours,” he says. “Helping with a barn-building project for Bob Mace, owner of Mace Sod, led to a full-time position in 1977 as one of the farm’s harvest supervisors. I went from there to King Ranch in 1993 before joining SMR Farms’ Turfgrass Division in 1998 as their Turfgrass Production Manager.”

He moved up the ranks from production manager and was named President in June of 2014. Calling the transition to overseeing all of SMR’s agricultural operations seamless, Bradshaw says, “SMR operates as a well-oiled machine. Basically, all our managers were in place for the citrus, tree production and cattle operations. Tey’re great people who understand our mission to demonstrate excellence at everything we do, and who are totally dedicated to achieving it. With standards and procedures in place and their cooperative interaction, I learned the other aspects of the agri-business division when I moved to the president position. I only needed to replace me.”

TPI Turf News January/February 2017