Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., home of the Minnesota Twins, is one of several major league ball parks that use special turf grown at Graff ’s Turf Farms. Above By Greg Lamp W hen James Graff and Marty Thiel watch a major league baseball game, they’re glued to their TVs. You might think they are die-hard sports fans, but they don’t pay much attention to the game. They’re evaluating the turf. Graff and Thiel run Graff ’s Turf Farms, Inc., at Fort Morgan, Colo., which produces superior grasses for some of the biggest sports facilities in the country, as well as for residential and commercial customers. Randy and Betsy Graff , James’ parents, started the turf operation in 1979 with just 120 acres and harvested their fi rst sod the following year. The business has grown to 440 acres and has transitioned to the next generation. Besides growing turf for sports complexes, Graff ’s Turf Farms also serves more traditional customers in conditions for exceptional sod blends that are rich in color, texture and durability. Thiel says they started to develop a short-cut bluegrass about 20 years ago that was designed specifi cally for athletic Now others have caught on to growing it.” Standard-cut sod runs 1 3 / 4 inches. Getting into Sports In the early 1990s, Graff ’s Turf was chosen to provide sod by major sports venues such as Soldier Field (Chicago Bears), Coors Field (Colorado Rockies) in Denver and Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City Royals). “That’s when we realized we had something special,” Graff recalls. Since then, the list has grown to include Tiger Stadium (Detroit Tigers), Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Twins), the University of Notre > THERE ARE 329,000 MILES OF ROOTS PER SQUARE FOOT OF TURF Source: Turfgrass Producers International Colorado’s Front Range area and as far away as Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas and South Dakota. The farm’s sandy soil provides near-perfect growing fi elds. “Short-cut at 5 / 8 inches is tougher, denser and the roots are closer to the surface. We were the startup for this kind of grass in the cool-season market. Your CHS Connection 21