It’s a dull name for an invigorating collaboration.
By Hillary Thompson, Horticulturist & Communications Director, Super-Sod
American sod farmers aren’t naturally forthcoming with information. Yes, we share and support each other . . . to a point. There’s an invisible line that is not defined yet is never crossed. Cutting-edge farmers protect their “secret sauce.” In the land of slow-cooked, pulled pork BBQ, this is how you get an edge over the competition.
That is why I heard static in April of 2016 when Ben Copeland Jr., CEO of Super-Sod, asked me to meet with North Georgia Turf and Buy Sod (now SodStar) to work together to spread the word about TifTuf Bermuda’s drought tolerance and water savings. Ben is truly our fearless leader, and he patiently listened to me bellyache about why this was a bad idea (our secret marketing sauces would be revealed!). He then told a far-fetched tale about Lawn Solutions Australia. My mind was changed when Ben explained how working together as a group would make more of a splash for TifTuf than going for it alone. He wanted to band together with competitors to put weight behind the water savings consumers will experience due to TifTuf’s drought tolerance. After cyber stalking Lawn Solutions, I was impressed by the collaboration and primed to go for it on our turf.
In group meetings, we mobilized the website tiftufbermuda.com, filmed some videos, created a trade show booth, secured magazine ads, and printed flyers highlighting TifTuf’s drought tolerance case studies. We ordered TifTuf shirts and business cards without our individual sod farm logos on them (these last two items were a bit of a stretch for the outside sales team to accept – but they did!). Our first collective trade show was booked for that November, and we headed to South Carolina for a show organized for golf course superintendents.
At the first trade shows, the sales reps from our three sod farms eyed each other suspiciously and stayed 6 feet away from each other, like they were contagious. After several awkward shows, we had each other’s mobile numbers keyed into our cell phones. This exchange of numbers was the first step in becoming true associates and a sign we were easing into this.
Over the last eight years, we have attended targeted tradeshows to reach all points where TifTuf would be considered – from home builders, apartment builders, green builders, sports field managers, facility managers, landscapers, to landscape architects. We no longer run magazine ads, but we are getting together for choice shows, like the recent show in July 2024 geared to water management professionals in Georgia.
None of these endeavors would have been possible if key stakeholders had not given their energetic support to this untraditional alliance. (As an aside, I have yet to hear of any other group forming to market other American plant material.) Because Ben recognized the importance of the Lawn Solutions model of collaborating for the good of everyone, TifTuf Turf Southeast was able to form a unique union and reach customers. Ben plus the leadership at North Georgia Turf and SodStar gave their monetary support, staff, and personal time to the equation. Finally, none of this would have happened if almost 25 years ago Dr. Bryan Schwartz had not recognized the significant drought tolerance of TifTuf Bermuda. Not only did he single out TifTuf, Bryan also attends key tradeshows as a pro bono speaker, then hangs out in the TifTuf show booth to answer questions. Due to the weight of scientific support, his talks telling the story of turfgrass development and showcasing the research on TifTuf’s drought tolerance cause an excited stir in the audience.
Speaking to the success of TifTuf for Super-Sod alone, TifTuf now accounts for 47% of our sod sales. Out of our six turfgrasses, one grass carrying nearly half of the sales is noteworthy, especially when that metric was reached in only eight years.
We are focusing on growing TifTuf as our only Bermuda variety, having already phased out all other Bermudagrass sales from our farms in our original footprint of Georgia and the Carolinas. At our new farms in Alabama and Tennessee, we are selling out the existing Bermudas fields and replanting only with TifTuf.
Another way to examine the significant sales is to look backward from 12/31/2023 through 1/1/2017 (a period of 84 months), when we harvested 134 million square feet of Tifway 419 Bermudagrass. Comparing it to TifTuf sales, we can look backward during the shorter timeframe of 12/31/2023 through 7/1/2022, when we harvested 141 million square feet of TifTuf in a period of only 18 months.
For Super-Sod, TifTuf is now the “builder grade” Bermudagrass of choice for new residential and retail developments because builders and landscapers experience the ease of establishment and reduced callbacks after jobs are done. TifTuf is also specified for sports fields and high-profile gardens like the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the University of Georgia campus.
Without Lawn Solutions modeling collaboration, our respective sod farms would have missed out on an enriching experience. Because we’re three sod farms pooling resources, we don’t have ROI for each event, publication, or marketing effort, except that the rising tide of TifTuf has now sold 2 billion square feet of sod and has put older turfgrasses such as Tiway 419 straight into retirement. Many thanks to our wise Australian counterparts for leading by example!
