Sod Farm

[warbuff]

Hello All, my business is located in Dutchess County NY and I'm looking to find a source for Sod Locally. If anyone could help me out I'd appreciate it immensely. - Mark

[dpld]

Lawn care business tips

you could probably google sod farms in your area and work it from there. when i first started many many years ago, sod was the first choice by property owners because it was affordable and provided instant satisfaction. but today, even though sod is still used it costs a lot more today and almost prices itself out of the ballpark for a average job. when you can call up a sod farm and order a couple hundred thousand sq ft they will give you a good price but for your typical job consisting of a few thousand sq ft it is usually expensive. in my region the big thing is choosing from the brown sod or the black sod and if you have a clay type soil the brown usually does better because of the type of grass they use and the clay content already in the sod. all you can really do is find some farms locally and call a few and see what type of sod they carry and get some prices. usually it is better to get it delivered although it adds to cost because it is real heavy and unless you got a big tandem axle truck you will not be able to carry much and the places by me if you opt to pick it up won't be happy with you if you can not take it all in one shot. most sod farms operate under limited hours because unless business is booming which we know is not they only bring in the help for the scheduled orders and if they only got one order for 10,000 square ft they roll it up and load it, plant some new grass and clock out and go home. so when you get back for the 2nd load you may not have a operator and a forklift to load the rest when you get back.

[Steve]

but today, even though sod is still used it costs a lot more today and almost prices itself out of the ballpark for a average job

Do you think that is nationwide issue or do you feel it may be more specific to your area?

[dpld]

Originally Posted by Steve

Do you think that is nationwide issue or do you feel it may be more specific to your area?

i really don't have a answer to that, it is hard to say because with the economy and cost of living how it varies from state to state it may very well still be affordable in some regions.

being in new jersey we have a high population with money but at the same time we have some of the highest real estate taxes as well as high taxes in general that greatly effect prices.

farming was a big industry in new jersey and they are dropping like flies due to the cost of taxes and regulations set on the farmers and as a result products are becoming more costly as well as some things i need to go out of state for to get the best prices.

so in short with that said it may very well be to my specific area but also not be limited to my area because i am sure other areas have their issues to deal with and no matter where you go today nothing is peachy keen anymore.

[Steve]

That is a very good point and it is something for everyone no matter their area to look into. This way once you figure the costs, it can help you sell better with a customer that might be on the fence as to go with sod or with seed.