August 19, 2016
CapitalPress.com
11
Diversiication helps company weather changes
Capital Press
When the housing mar-
ket crash of 2008 cut the
demand for sod in half, Tom
DeArmond knew the only
way to keep Oregon Turf and
Tree successful would be to
diversify.
In 2015, the company
added 10 acres of hazelnut
trees to its 700-acre farm to
offset the stagnant sales of
sod.
In addition to sod and
hazelnuts, the farm grows
grass seed, shade trees and
pot-in-pot trees.
Oregon Turf and Tree
serves the Interstate 5 corri-
dor and southwestern Wash-
ington.
The company started
growing sod in the 1973 after
DeArmond, the company’s
co-owner, said his father no-
ticed new homeowners’ and
builders’ need for instant
“We don’t see the industry getting bigger
anytime soon. I see (sod) becoming a
smaller part of the farm.”
Tom DeArmond co-owner of Oregon Turf and Tree
lawn gratification.
DeArmond said that
during the recession, new
houses were going up at half
the rate they were before
2008.
While the industry has
begun to recover, he said it’s
still not back to its previous
level.
“We don’t see the indus-
try getting bigger anytime
soon,” DeArmond said. “I
see (sod) becoming a smaller
part of the farm.”
Working more efficient-
ly allowed Oregon Turf and
Tree to retain 90 percent of
its employees after the crash.
DeArmond said the business
is split evenly into three
parts — grass seed, shade
trees and sod — so when sod
wasn’t doing well he could
count on the other products
to provide year-round busi-
ness.
DeArmond said he no-
ticed a big demand for hazel-
nuts in Asia and invested in
growing hazelnuts as a stable
product that is a strong crop
in the Willamette Valley.
The sod Oregon Turf and
Tree has been focused on
growing is ryegrass and tall
fescue — a drought- and
heat-resistant sod that needs
less water.
Tall fescue requires less
frequent irrigation and toler-
ates partial shade better than
other sods, he said. DeAr-
mond said there has been
an evolution in drought-re-
sistant sod over the last 30
years.
While DeArmond said the
company is diversifying and
may reduce sod production,
he stressed the importance of
grass and sod to families and
their communities.
“Grass is sometimes re-
garded as non-essential be-
cause it doesn’t feed animals
or produce water but there
are a lot of benefits to it,”
he said. “Two hundred feet
of grass provides a family
of four enough oxygen for a
day.”
Oregon Turf and Tree
is in its third generation of
family owners. DeArmond
co-owns the company with
his siblings, Brett, Tom and
Linda. DeArmond’s father is
also still active in the com-
pany.
DeArmond is already get-
ting the fourth generation
around the company, bring-
ing his 3- and 5-year-old
children out to the farm.
“They just think it’s a big
playground here,” he said.
DeArmond said he plans
to continue to diversify and
grow the hazelnut produc-
tion in the future.
“Diversity has always
been a focus of ours and
will continue to be,” DeAr-
mond said.
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