Eastern IA Farmer_Fall23_SOUTH

Niche farm finds success
a
From the Field of
Dreams to local
backyard landscaping,
Seven Cities Sod has
spent decades laying
the groundwork for
beautiful green spaces
BY JENNA STEVENS
EASTERN IOWA FARMER
Being the vice president of a
company typically invokes
images of glossy conference
tables and custom-tailored
suits unless that company is
also a working farm.
For Keaton Frye, being the vice
president of his family’s company means
fertilizing, spraying, and communicating
with his supervisors; but, it also means
covering the front desk while his sister is
on vacation, answering phones, helping
customers with orders, coordinating his
daughter’s camp schedule, and losing
count of how many cups of coffee he has
poured.
Frye is one of the owners of Seven Cities
Sod located in Davenport along the
Interstate 80 corridor. The family owns
630 acres of land, which rotates between
sod grass varieties and soybeans. This
niche farming business started back in
1967 when Frye’s grandfather made the
decision to convert five acres of row
crop ground into sod. The whole process
took two years and looked like it was not
going to pay off.
“They took care of the sod from
planting all the way to maturity with
no idea what they were going to do
with it. Finally, the DOT (Department
of Transportation) called them up and
asked them to buy four acres worth to
finish an overpass project they had been
working on. Once grandpa calculated his
Brother and sister Keaton Frye and Jill Oostendorp
operate Seven Cities Sod on the Interstate 80 corridor in
Scott County. The family owns 630 acres of land, which
rotates between sod grass varieties and soybeans.
EASTERN IOWA FARMER PHOTO / BROOKE TILL
profit margin versus traditional crops, he
decided to convert more land the next
year,” Frye said.
Today, this family-owned business still
sells sod for transportation projects but
has expanded into commercial businesses
and personal landscaping as well.
About 75% of the business is wholesale
and 25% is onsite retail. Sod can be purchased
in rolls, which are 3.5-feet wide
by 90-feet long, or in smaller squares,
which come stacked on pallets. The larger
rolls normally go to new construction
sites, while the smaller cuts can be used
to fill in around pools or patch up yards.
Seven Cities allows 18 months from
seed to harvest, which is longer than
some other companies. They do this
because they want to make sure the crop
goes through a winter cycle to harden off
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