Te Tis Old House crew toured the Sodco farm. Pictured (L to R) are: Kevin O’Connor, Pat Hogan, Jenn Nawada, and Roger Cook.
This Old House Sodco has been associated with Tis Old House for 30 years. Hogan says, “Roger Cook’s company, K and R Landscaping, is our customer and we’ve been fortunate to have been contacted whenever any of the Tis Old House projects in our area have needed sod. Typically, we’ve supplied bluegrass. In 2011, for their “Beach House” project in Barrington, RI, near the Narragansett Bay’s Barrington Beach, coastal management informed them they couldn’t put in bluegrass. We proposed Black Beauty as an alternative and it was accepted. We installed 8,000 square feet.”
Since then, all their projects switched to Black Beauty until 2018. Te “Idea House” in Narragansett and the Jamestown “Net Zero” project, designed as an example of sustainability, used the Microclover Black Beauty. Hogan says, “We put 7,000 square feet in the outdoor gathering place at the back of the ‘Net Zero’ house. A video of it on the Tis Old House website shows Jenn Nawada and Roger Cook talking with me about the microclover and its low maintenance advantages. It’s a huge sales tool for Sodco to be able to say we do the sod for Tis Old House.” In early 2019, Tis Old House will be running an episode showing their staff touring the Sodco farm to see the Microclover Black Beauty, the vegetables planted in it, and the Blazin’ Corn operations.
Looking Forward Sodco accomplishes all this, and more, with a year-round, full-time staff of six or seven which includes the office and
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sales personnel and the mechanics. Hodgson says, “We always hope to harvest into December, shutting down the week of the holiday. Our spring start can be as early as March. Our staff, which grows to 21 in peak season, is diverse, with women in office, sales, production and trucking positions. Ten owner/operators also work with us delivering the sod.”
As president, Hodgson wears many hats. “On one hand, it’s an important position, yet on the other, it’s one of the easiest in the company,” he says. “My parents established a strong foundation, making it clear to every person who came on board that they were part of the team. We’ve always paid a salary well above the minimum wage, and provided benefits, including health care. We’ve had a profit-sharing plan since 1981. Te key ingredients of our success are the quality of our land and the quality of our people. Trough the work of my parents, we have the people on our team who know their jobs and perform them well. I’m very fortunate to step into this role.”
Hodgson adds, “My biggest insight in this business is not unique, as farmers we’re stewards of the land; it’s our greatest asset. What we’ve done with John over the past ten years is one of the most important elements. Te farm has been in agriculture well over 200 years, from dairy to potatoes to whatever other crops were grown over the years, and it has never looked this good or been as consistently productive.”
Suz Trusty is co-editor of Turf News. All photos courtesy of Sodco, Inc.
TPI Turf News January/February 2019
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