Posted: 7/5/05
By Aaron Vehling
As Harley Johnson drove this Post Review reporter around his North Branch sod farm Wednesday morning (June 29), it was clear he was proud of what the farm has become.
As he demonstrated how a computerized, mechanized sod harvester performed its intended duties, a sense of contentment shined in his eyes.
Harleyís Sod, the company Johnson started in 1955, celebrates its 50th year this year.
Though Johnson, 75, has been in the sod business for half of a century, he did not start there. Before he got into sod, Johnson said he tried woodworking.
ìI always yearned to be in business,î he said. ìMy dad was a businessman and I thought I should be in business, too.î
But woodworking was not proving as fruitful as Johnson had hoped. He took a three-month leave-of-absence from his cabinet factory job and rented a farm to tend to cattle.
Along with his wife, Margie, and his four children, this turned quickly into an endeavour for Johnson in cutting pasture sod on about 50-75 acres of land in an area where Bethel College of St. Paul is currently located.
ìWe put ads in the paper and it really took off,î he said. ìIt got busier than all get out.î
Johnson was cutting pasture sod in Princeton, Ogilvie and Dalbo.
ìI didnít have to go back to the hourly job,î he said.
His wife took orders and did the bookkeeping.
Once a farm near Ham Lake started selling cultured sod (the fertilized, specially treated form you see today), Johnson said, business started moving away from the pasture sod. He started buying the cultured sod to sell.
Johnson said that if he was to make money, heíd have to do things differently.
It was 1963 and the Johnson family lived in Roseville. They stored their equipment on their property, which was in a residential neighborhood.
Neighbors complained about Johnson running his business from his home. He had to leave.
ìI got upset,î he said, ìbut it turned out well.î
He bought an 80-acre farm in Hugo and started growing sod there. He eventually added about 100 acres, making it 180 acres. By the late 1960s, the Johnsons found themselves on a 400-acre farm outside of North Branch.
Harleyís Sod is still there today, though it looks a bit different. Johnsonís adult children, Kent Johnson and Judy Remitz, along with Harleyís grandchildren, Darci Remitz and Harley Johnson III, run the business, which now sprawls out over 800 acres of land. Much of the land is irrigated by a series of underground pipes.
The process by which the Johnsonís staff of 19 prepare sod for distribution is a little different as well.
It used to be that sod had to be cut by hand. Now the Johnsonís have two computer-controlled, automated harvesters which cut, roll-up and place the sod on a pallet at a rate of about a pallet a minute.
ìYou gotta be fast,î said Johnson, as he watched an employee demonstrate the harvesting process. ìItís the only way to make any money.î
Harley Johnson said he has been blessed with a rather successful business which has thrived and expanded over the years. He has had some challenges, though. There have been troubles getting enough help in the past. Johnson did much of the work himself.
ìHe was killing himself,î Margie said.
Weather can be a problem, too. This yearís winter was rough, Johnson said, because the temperature dropped dramatically without any snow to insulate the land.
ìA lot of the younger sod died,î he said.
At one point, when their children were young, Harley and Margie almost sold the farm; but they decided to keep it to see if their children were interested in sod farming.
Now in ìretirement,î Harley and Margie spend a lot of time fishing in Ontario, Canada; but they do remain active in the business. They offer their consulting services, culled from 50 years of experience.
As for his success, Harley offers this conclusion: ìI tried to treat people how I would want to be treated. I offered a fair price and never gouged my customers.î
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