and sod farm as a whole. Each of these internships challenges me and provides deeper insight into the Ag business and sod world.”
Weston was encouraged to sign up for the 2022 TPI Study Tour to Germany by Wade Wilbur, who was also participating. Visiting international sod farms, attending the ETP Conference, and learning from the sod producers were Weston’s highlights of that trip. He attended the TPI 2023 Conference in Nashville to accept the TLI Scholarship and he met even more people in the industry.
He says, “I applied for the Future Leaders Fellowship Program because those prior experiences convinced me that I wanted to be in the industry long-term and to eventually give back to it in some capacity. I’ve gained even more from the program than I anticipated through the opportunities to meet people from a wide range of places and learn about their different perspectives. Taking part in last year’s Italy Study Tour along with nearly all the current cohort members helped us strengthen our relationships, and reconnecting with those I’d met on the Germany trip, made that an exceptional experience.”
After putting sod production on pause for nearly a decade, in late 2020, when Weston was a high school senior, the family pivoted due to escalating land prices from urban pressure that limited the expansion needed to support another adult with row crops. “We determined that sod production was well within the scope of our current row crop operation and could diversify our income streams well; therefore, the decision turned into a no-brainer.” says Weston. “We’re now up to around 250 acres of a fescue blend in our rotation.”
In 2023, Weston was awarded the four-year TLI Dr. Henry W. Indyk Scholarship while he was working on his B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Agronomy at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. He graduated in three years in May of 2024 and began working on his M.S. in Ag Economics also at KSU. “Manhattan is about 130 miles from the farm, so I work remotely,” says Weston. “We developed a platform for ordering, harvesting, and delivery logistics which I can help manage from anywhere. It’s helped us build a robust communication network for our team as well as improve record keeping.”
Along with his on-campus interaction with professors and other graduate students, Weston is working outside the classroom. He works for Labache AG, a consulting, crop insurance, and financial analysis agency based in Manhattan, KS, and continues to work for them during the school year. Tis summer, however, he is interning with the Sod Shop. Weston reports, “Wade set up a rotation for me to get hands-on experience with each division of the business to better understand the operation
TPI Turf News July/August 2025
His cohort one-on-one is Haley Gavranovic Alford, with Horizon Turf Grass in Wharton, Texas. He says, “Haley came to the Kansas City area for our cohort’s first in-person meeting, after which she came and toured our sod farm. I visited one of her family’s farms near Houston Texas, during the TPI San Antonio Conference. It was interesting to learn about the agronomy of warm-season grasses as I am in a cool-season market. I also appreciated our discussions related to business management, especially the shared perspectives on incentives, logistics, management styles, and the dynamics of our regional sod markets.”
Weston says, “Nathan Whitaker is exceptional. He applies his background, using the team aspect of sports, to show how we as sod farms can create that same unity that we are all striving for in our own businesses. It’s a relatable perspective that is relevant to each of us. He also challenges us to reflect on who we are as leaders, how our leadership style affects us and those around us, and how we can improve as leaders in the industry.”
Weston would recommend the Future Leaders Fellowship Program to anyone looking to broaden their horizons in the industry. He says, “It’s an excellent way to expand your horizons through new connections, experiences, perspectives, and approaches. Te relationships you build within the cohort give you a network you can always reach out to and that will grow even stronger over time.”
Join the Third Cohort
Applications for the 2026-2028 Future Leaders Fellowshiwship Program will open this fall. If you’d like to apply, please email Allie Roed at
ARoed@TurfgrassSod.org.
se Suz Trusty is co-editor of . 27
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