Patten Seed Company completed its second add-on acquisition since Heartwood Partners’ initial investment and expanded its sod-growing footprint westward by purchased Frog Pond Turf in December 2021.
Frog Pond was established in 1997 by the Baker Family (Bill, Kimberly and Brad) and is headquartered in Opelika, Ala. Brad Baker, farm manager of Frog Pond, will continue in that role at Super-Sod managing over 1,400 acres of turfgrass production.
This acquisition marks Super-Sod’s first foray into cultivating Alabama farmland and enables their reach into the Auburn, Montgomery, and Birmingham markets, while offering additional supply of Bermudagrass and Zoysiagrass to serve their Columbus, Newnan, and Atlanta, Georgia customers.
Currently Frog Pond grows Tifway 419 Bermuda sod, Centipedegrass, and Emerald and Meyer Zoysias. Super-Sod will convert Frog Pond’s acreage into varieties such as TifTuf Bermudagrass and Zenith and Zeon Zoysiagrasses; staples of the Super-Sod portfolio of grasses. Farming best practices and technology will be shared with Frog Pond as it is integrated into Super-Sod’s operating model, where farms already located in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are able to collaborate, learn, and leverage supply from each other serving retail locations throughout the region.
This expansion also marks the opportunity for Super-Sod to bring Soil³ humus compost sold in a BigYellowBag into the Alabama market, as well as offer Lawn Coach to customers in the area, a subscription lawn care program.
For more information about Patten Seed Company, visit www.supersod.com.
Please contact the following members of the investment team at Heartwood Partners with investment or add-on opportunities:
James Sidwa
jsidwa@heartwoodpartners.com
Andrea Vandersall
avandersal@heartwoodpartners.com
John Willert
jwillert@heartwoodpartners.com
John Newman
jnewman@heartwoodpartners.com