50 Years of Agland Turf

Back in 1974, Robert ‘Bob’ Agland made the unexpected decision to leave his career as a welder and become a turf farmer. He loved the outdoors and longed for a career that involved less travelling and shorter hours.

At the time, he lived in Berkeley Vale on the Central Coast with his wife Annette and their 2 daughters, Margaret and Vicki. He travelled daily into inner Sydney for work, relying solely on train transport to get to and from work as well as moving from job to job during the day. He got tired of all the travelling and long hours and was busting to spend more time outdoors. He wanted to work closer to home, with less travelling and therefore shorter days. When the opportunity arose for him to purchase a turf farm, he just couldn’t say no.

In June 1974, Bob Agland purchased a turf farm in Wyong and started ‘Agland Turf’ as a business. The property was an established turf farm with common Kikuyu and a small amount of Couch already growing and Bob kept on all the previous owners’ staff when he took over to assist him with the running of his new business. The property purchase included a turf cutter; however, all turf deliveries were made using a trailer. Bob eventually acquired a delivery truck to make the whole delivery process more efficient.

In February 1981, Bob moved his family to Dumeresq Island near Taree on the mid North Coast. He purchased a former dairy farm and had to start from scratch to establish his turf business again. Due to the constant flooding of the Manning River across his property, Bob moved his family again in February 1984. This time they purchased a house in Nabiac on the Mid North Coast and leased local paddocks for the turf business. Bob and Annette lived in Nabiac for the next 18 years, expanding their business and watching their family grow.

In 1997, Bob’s son-in-law, Wayne Griffis, began working alongside Bob to gain valuable insight into the turf industry and to learn the process of producing and harvesting turf. Wayne grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Dyers Crossing just outside of Nabiac. After leaving school, he acquired his trade certificate in dairy management and went on to work on various local dairy farms over the years. He had experience in pasture production for cattle as well as fertiliser and chemical experience but knew very little in the way of turf production and management.

In 2000, Bob’s health deteriorated, and Margaret and Wayne purchased the ‘Agland Turf’ business where Wayne put his newfound skills and knowledge into action. Bob and Annette moved away from the area and headed out west to Gunnedah to relieve Bob’s health symptoms. They moved back to the area in 2009 to be closer to their family before Bob sadly passed away on the 25th of May 2012.

In 2002, Margaret and Wayne purchased their current property at 520 Dargavilles Road, just outside of Nabiac and began preparing the paddocks for planting. Later that year they planted their first buffalo turf variety, Palmetto Buffalo.

Agland Turf registered as a member of the Lawn Solutions Australia network in 2022 for their amazing grower support, not to mention their premium varieties of turf. Agland Turf soon gained AusGAP accreditation after planting their first turf variety from Lawn Solutions Australia, a paddock of TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda. In February 2023, they planted Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo followed by Zoysia Australis in April the same year.

Margaret and Wayne together have four boys with their eldest son Aaron starting work on the farm in 2015 after finishing school. He is now Agland Turf’s AUSGAP Certified Representative (ACR) and ensures all of the turf varieties adhere to a stringent set of quality standards. In 2019, their third-born son Matthew began working for the business. He mainly works behind the scenes on the farm ensuring all turf varieties are to the highest quality before harvesting. Their 2 other children, Joshua and Kye, both occasionally work for the business however wish to pursue different career paths.