SOD FARM MANAGERS VISIT WORKERS IN MEXICO—SEE BENEFITS OF H-2A PROGRAM


By Cecilia Brown


For the past two winters, a sod farm operation in Kansas has started doing something pretty unusual during its off months from production. Instead of staying put on their farm, upper management of Sod Shop Companies has flown down to Mexico to visit their H-2A employees, who had returned home for their winter break, and their families.


Co-Owner of Sod Shop Companies, Wade Wilbur, said this has been such a rewarding opportunity for them to see the lives their temporary agricultural employees are building for themselves and their families back home.


With their landscaping and sod business, Wade said they’ve had Hispanic employees on staff since the early 1990s. “We’ve always had invitations to go down and visit the areas that they were from but never really had the right opportunity. So, last winter we went down with an employee from our staff who grew up in Mexico and was bilingual,” he shared. “Not only did we travel around to visit existing employees, we also interviewed potential new employees and searched for more workers with specific skills that we needed.”


In 2020, between Wade and Sod Shop Vice President of Operations, Mike Howard, they traveled over 6,500 KM (4,000 plus miles) for 17 days across 10 states in Mexico to visit six different H-2A families. Te two took turns traveling to Mexico so they weren’t away from their business in Kansas at the same time. Each chose the same flight route, from Kansas to Denver to Mexico, and after arriving in Mexico, each set out in a rental car. Traveling between 9 and 13 hours per day between six different families, both Wade and Mike said although the trip was long, it was well worth every mile.


Pictured is Wade Wilbur, co-owner of Sod Shop Companies and president of the Lawrence, KS, location, with Luis, an H2A employee from Chihuahua that grew up on a farm, has three kids, and built his house in two years.


Sod Shop, founded by Wade’s father, Tony Wilbur, and uncle, Ted Wilbur, has expanded from growing just row crops in the 1990s into two full-scale sod farming operations today. Ted manages the original Wichita, KS, sod farm and Wade, who came on board in 2004, is the President of the Lawrence, KS, location they purchased in 2012. Te Lawrence Sod Shop is the division of the business that utilizes H-2A labor.


“Tis is our fourth year of using H-2A labor, which is basically a visa to bring seasonal workers in from other countries for nine to ten months. Ten they go home in the off-season, or winter months,” Wade said. He explained this works well with their sod business because they slow down tremendously during the winter. Sod Shop has hired H-2A employees from Mexico and South Africa in the past, but over the past two years, they’ve solely used workers from Mexico due to travel complications during the Covid restrictions.


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One reason behind their initial visits was the Sod Shop’s need for more truck drivers. Wade explained that, currently, a Mexican CDL (Commercial Drivers License) is recognized in the United States. “Tis is a huge advantage for us when we need drivers because we can bring people up and the day they arrive their license is valid. Tat’s a whole process we don’t have to go through.”


Sod Shop’s Wade Wilbur (right) visits H-2A employee Erick, from Chihuahua, and his family. Erick has one daughter and is building his own house.


TPI Turf News July/August 2022


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