Our Story

Hussey Sod Farm is a part of a 6th generation farming family. Since the Hussey family settled on this land, crops and livestock have been grown on this farm. It began as a row crop farm and has diversified to keep the farm thriving.

In 1969, Lamar Hussey saw an increasing need for commodity grasses as he worked to maintain roadsides. When building new roads, he and his crew would dig sod from existing pastures and transplant it to the new routes. This prompted him to plant the first 5 acres of Tifway 419 Bermuda grass to sell to the public. Over the next 20 years, Lamar increased acreage, added new grass varieties, and grew a successful business. Unfortunately, from his years of roadside maintenance, the pesticide exposure caused him to develop serious health problems. Rather than see the business close, Lamar's brother Herman decided to lease the farm and try to keep it going. This was a good decision.

Herman used Lamar's aging equipment the first year and tested the market with 30 acres of Bermuda and Zoysia grasses. In year 2, he purchased a TSH harvester and a piggyback forklift. He converted a bean truck to a flatbed delivery truck and didn't look back. The sod acreage and equipment proliferated until the housing bubble burst in 2007. At that point, our practices began to change slightly. Our equipment upgrades and inventory had to be managed much more conservatively, but we managed to weather the storm.

In 2017, Herman's youngest son, Chris, took over the day-to-day decision-making at the farm. I'm happy to say that Herman is still

giving his input regularly, but is also taking moments to enjoy life while riding in his wagon behind his team of mules anytime the weather is nice.

When COVID-19 rocked the whole world, our farm kept right on trucking. Like everyone else, we had to battle all of the employee shortages. Those issues helped steer our industry as a whole to become more automated. In recent years, Herman and his son Chris have strategically picked every piece of equipment purchased in the spirit of efficiency. We have a au pallet stacker, a one-man-operated roll cutter, and two autonomous mowers. The turf production industry is quickly becoming more and more technologically advanced. It's fascinating to see what the future holds.

Hussey Sod Farms latest way to diversify is by adding farm-to-table beef sales. We have consistently raised cattle on the farm. Still, in recent years, the beef prices/quality in stores have made the "farm fresh" beef industry a great way to market calves and help our neighbors have an affordable, great-tasting beef source.

The Hussey family roots run deep on the land we are fortunate enough to take care of while it's our turn. We are constantly striving to do things to ensure that the land is fertile for future generations.