Fox says, “We changed crops on about 100 acres, growing alfalfa at what turned out to be the right time, while the market was strong for it. As other farms grew more alfalfa and prices dropped, we put those acres back into turfgrasses.

“Jeff had just begun working with Harmony Outdoor Brands, helping get that program established in the western U.S. and he focused more time on that. While we’d been serving independent garden centers all along, joining the Harmony program brought us sales with Lowe’s and Home Depot.”

Volleyball is also a family activity as they win a championship. Tat’s Jimmy on the left next to TJ and Shannon with Sean and Nikki on the right.

into those networking resources, to call any time we’d like another sounding board is amazing,” he says. “I had to get involved so I could give back by helping others.”

Evergreen Turf has farm managers for each site and a core staff for each location, with a total of about 120 employees. Fox says, “So much of our success has come because of our extraordinary people who are dedicated to our overriding commitment to our customers.”

Jeff and Jimmy dress in team gear to attend an Arizona Cardinals game.

Growing Again Now that the sod business has ramped back up, Evergreen Turf has too.

Tey’ve recently expanded into California, taking over the management of what was American Sod Farms in Escondido, just outside San Diego. Fox now handles sales and operations for Arizona and California. Nettleton does the same for their two New Mexico operations. Te McIntosh location serves the Albuquerque market and beyond. Te Santa Teresa farm covers the Las Cruces, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, markets.

Seeking help in tackling day-to-day operations in areas new to him, Fox attended his first TPI International Education Conference and Trade Show in January of 2011, held in Reno, NV. “Members welcomed me, and my questions, providing great advice that we’ve incorporated to make changes more effectively and improve our operations. Te open invitation to tap

TPI Turf News July/August 2017

Combined sod production for all Evergreen Turf locations is close to 3,000 acres. Fox calls that “a moving target. Arizona is still our largest producer, now with around 1,100 acres.”

Each farm initiates the contacts and generally handles the production, harvest, delivery, and installation for their own geographic region, except for large projects, Fox reports. “Our intercompany network supports overall sales. We do ship from one farm to another when needed.”

Evergreen Turf can’t centralize because conditions vary so greatly from site to site in soils, water and climate fluctuations. “A couple of our locations have poor quality water. We’ve learned to make the right adjustments to grow great grass with bad water. Our other farms don’t need those practices.”

Governing bodies also vary from site to site. “Every state has its own environmental policies. Many cities have developed ordinances that impact everything from the movement of equipment and noise to water use,” says Fox.

Fox has been amazed at how different the culture is on each of their farms. “Will Nugent (TPI past president, president of Bethel Farms and the mastermind behind Harmony Outdoor Brands) cautioned me to expect the culture adjustment,” says Fox. “I do understand it’s hard for many people to adjust to changes. Tose working together on a farm have all evolved to where they are because of the circumstances they deal with, the work they do, and the kinds of customers they serve.”

So it was a huge change for the California operations when Evergreen Turf took over this year— and brought automated harvesters to them. “Tey had still been hand stacking,” says Fox. “In today’s economy, with today’s labor, it’s hard to depend on hourly personal, especially for an essential task. Te change had to be made. We like to have at least two automated harvesters at each farm. With warm- season turfgrasses, we can harvest two different grasses at the same time, and we have back-up when one machine breaks down.”

Evergreen Turf owns trucks and employs truck drivers. Tey also rent trucks and they contract for trucks and drivers with outside companies. For efficiency, and to control costs, they try to balance the ratio so they’re not overloaded with trucks but still have trucks available when they need them. Fox says, “We can run 15 to 20 trucks a day, but that varies. In late April, our Arizona farm shipped 17 trucks on a Tursday and only four that Friday. We rent a truck for a week to lock it in, even though we may not use it every day. Not being able to ship a truckload when a customer needs it is much more costly than the rental.”

Te multiple sites and differing conditions allow Evergreen Turf to grow a broader range of grasses. Keeping with their desire to produce golf-quality turfgrass sod, most of these are proprietary, licensed,

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