“We normally don’t start watering until July,” said Blake Robinson, who runs A&L along with his father Dan.
There aren’t many professions more impacted by weather than farming. These folks always keep an eye on the sky – and that includes sod farmers in the North Metro area. Raindrops have been a rumor this spring and the bone dry conditions are not good news .
“The drought really never went away,” Blake said. “We got a lot of snow this last winter. But it never really went away. This is extremely early for us to be watering. You gotta stay on top of it.”
A&L sod is a family business that has been around for parts of eight decades.
“I’m the sixth generation farmer here,” Blake said.
The Robinson’s are hoping this epic dry spell ends soon.
“The water’s the hardest thing to control,” said Dan. “To get rid of it and have it available. We’ve been battling a heck of a drought these last three years to be honest…We’re remnants of 1988 almost, what that drought was.”
“On an island”
While parts of the Twin Cities are being swallowed up by suburban sprawl, this sod farm remains. A&L has a 400 acre footprint of green space smack dab in the middle of the North Metro area.
Said Dan: “The city’s creeping closer.”
“We are on an island here,” Blake said. “But it’s like a perfect location because we’re just north of the I-35E/35W split so we can service a lot of companies…It’s a nice little area to have. A little escape from the city.”
“You kinda feel like you’re in your own little world,” Dan said. “It’s not a bad thing in that respect.”
From seed to harvest, It takes approximately 1 1/2 years to grow sod.
Once the sod is cut up, A&L sells it to anyone who wants it.
“Homeowners, businesses, contractors,” Blake said. “The big thing with the sod industry is it goes with the housing market. If the housing market is down, sod tends to go with it.”
In sod they trust
In 2009, A&L almost won the bid to provide sod for the Minnesota Twins playing surface at a brand new Target Field.
“It would have been nice to have ’em take it from here,” Blake said.
But the Twins chose a Colorado company.
“That was kind of a bummer,” Blake said. “But we were getting looked at when that stadium was first brought up.”
Despite dealing with Minnesota’s weather rollercoaster, the Robinson’s are happy to carry on the family legacy.
In sod they trust.
Said Blake: “We love it.”
Because of that, A&L has no plans on selling their land to developers in the future.
“We do get knocks every now and then,” Blake said. “But we all like it so much we are not trying to get out of here.”
For Blake and Dan there is plenty of gratification in seeing their sod take root around the area.
“Over the years I can drive around to different communities…” Dan said. “You can pick out the yards. Remember the yards you went to, which is neat.”
“Love being able to provide a really high quality product to people,” Blake said. “Just seeing it in people’s yards, it’s awesome.”
