Dairy farmers Don and Virginia Anderson were farsighted, thinking beyond their cows to a different type of farm for their future and that of the family that followed them.

“I think he had grass in the back of his mind,” says their grandson Blake Anderson, referring to his grandfather’s first thoughts about leaving dairying. Blake and his brother Dylan now operate Anderson Sod Farm near the outskirts of Appleton, Wis. Blake, the spokesman for the farm owned by his mother, Cynthy, says his great-great-great-grandparents began farming at the site in 1873 after emigrating from Denmark.

“[Don] started small, just 5 acres, and used existing machinery,” Blake notes of his grandfather. “He came up with a pretty nice crop for his first try.”

Gradually, that 5-acre experiment grew, and in 1960, the farm’s 78 cows were sold. In 1985, Don’s son Jack took over and oversaw growth to today’s 185 acres of Kentucky bluegrass sod, all raised on peat topsoil.

Blake explains that peat is a perfect medium for growing sod, but low-lying acres are susceptible to frost. His grandfather learned that the hard way when he tried some vegetable crops first, and they froze. Hence, “he looked for a crop that was not susceptible,” Blake says. Grass was it.

“He did his research. Every field is peat soil. It’s a fantastic soil for growing sod. The only problem is it gets wet,” Blake says, explaining that can delay harvest.

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The peat fields, part of a 245-acre farm, are fully tiled and irrigated when needed. Tillage is kept to a minimum with lightweight equipment.

“We run a disk over it a couple of times, then roll the soil,” Blake says. A 10-foot seeder applies seed at a rate of 50 pounds per acre. A preemergence herbicide handles weeds, and a 27-0-6 fertilizer helps jump-start the sod. Planting occurs until mid-September.

Sod growing process

The growing process is about one and a half years, Blake notes, so fields planted this year will be ready for harvest in 2026. In between, there will be more pesticide applications and three to five more fertilizer applications at rates of 100 pounds per acre.

“And we pray for rain,” he says, laughing. “If not, we irrigate. A couple weeks later there’s another application, and when it’s ready to harvest, maybe we’ll do another shot of fertilizer” — so the sod has a good shade of green.

Harvesting is fully mechanized and happens in the early morning as weather permits, beginning around May 1 and extending until Thanksgiving. Harvested sod, Blake points out, is highly perishable. “We tell customers to lay it in 24 hours,” he says, plus a warning to water it well. Storage depends on the time of the year. As temperatures cool, you have three to four days before it begins to compost.

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MINIMUM TILLAGE: The peat fields where the sod is grown are fully tiled and irrigated. Tillage is kept to a minimum with lightweight equipment.

“We have several feet worth of peat throughout most of our property,” Blake says. “We really don’t lose any soil during our growing-harvesting process. Peat soil is purely composted plant matter, so our grass clippings, residual root structures, etc., that are left behind actually replenish the soil to the same degree that we remove it for sod harvesting.

“Most of what people see as soil on the bottom of sod rolls is actually root mass. The roots weave themselves together into a tightly knit canopy and only hold a small amount of soil between them. When a person sees a sod roll with a half inch of dirt for a base, there’s probably only a quarter inch or less of actual soil attached. Plus, we only get a sod crop out of a given field every two or three years.”

Side jobs for off-season

As harvest winds down, it spells downtime for the crew. They typically take off-farm jobs.

“Most of us have side jobs,” Blake says of himself, Dylan and their three employees. Blake’s wife, Sarah, is a therapist in Green Bay, Wis., and they have a small daughter, Clara. He describes himself as a “floater” on the farm, doing the office work, repairs and as-needed tasks, including planting and fertilizing. Dylan handles the harvesting, while another employee does the tillage, mowing and spraying.

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BIG HELPER: Blake Anderson and his daughter, Clara, take a break at Anderson Sod Farm.

The Anderson brothers belong to the Wisconsin Sod Producers Association and Turf Producers International. “Good information is shared,” Blake says.

They sell at their farm and deliver all over Wisconsin. Anderson sod is visible at Rawhide Youth Services and the new Bart and Cherry Starr facility there, many of the golf courses in the area, and the new Legacy Hotel grounds in Green Bay, Wis.

“That will be high visibility when the draft comes to town,” Blake quips, referring to the 2025 NFL draft of college players, scheduled next year in Green Bay and expected to draw a huge crowd of visitors.