Payne Sod Farm

History of Payne Sod Farm

Ron Payne first started in the turf industry in High School. He enjoyed working at various golf courses and later became a superintendent. From there he realized that he wanted to start his own business in Sod Farming.

1975

In the spring of 1975 the first sod field planted was 5 acres of the 6 acre farm. Ron used a walk behind Ryan sod cutter to harvest the first crop. Shortly after that, business began expanding and Ron purchased a tractor mounted sod cutter. As the farm continued to grow, 2 more tractor mounted machines were added to the team and 3 machines allowed for several loads to be harvested daily.

2000

Justin, Ron's son had always been around the business but in the spring of 2000 he decided to make it a second generation business helping the family and growing the production larger.

2003

In 2003 Payne Sod Farm decided to automate harvesting and bought a Trebro Autostack. This gave them the capability of cutting two rolls of sod at the same time and only needing 1 person to operate the machine. Together Ron and Justin have continued to stay efficient and accurate by using GPS, automation, and advancements in all aspects of the turf industry.

2013

The ongoing expansion of Payne Sod Farm, Inc. reached the international level in July of 2013 when the farm was the host of the Turfgrass Producers International annual summer show.
More than 400 vendors and sod growers from all over the world were in attendance to the display in the 200 acre field set up in rural Manteno. Also in 2013 Payne Sod started selling a new hybrid grass variety called HGT. Hundreds of golf courses, several colleges, and even professional sports venues across the country are using the HGT bluegrass.

2014

Adding to the HGT, Payne Sod Farm added RTF. This highly productive Rhizomatous Tall Fescue has helped fill a void in the market where customers haven’t been able to locate a high quality tall fescue.

2016

Sports Turf really increased with the helping of Professional Football, Baseball, and Soccer venues. This has become a fast growing segment to the farm now working with several Big Ten teams and other Universities for different sports as well as minor league baseball teams. A new 42” solid blade semi-automated big roll machine was added to the fleet to assist with the large projects.

2018

Payne Sod Farm teams up with Scott’s to bring ProVista to the Chicago market the first bluegrass of its type. This grass will be a game changer for years to come. The farm purchased two new Autostacks to keep up production and take advantage of new technology.