Harley's Sod has been an innovater in the sod farm industry since 1955. Harley Johnson, founder of Harley's Sod, began cutting sod on pasture land in northern Minnesota with a walk behind sod cutter.  The rolls were loaded by hand onto flat bed trucks and hauled to the St. Paul, Minneapolis area, and sold to landscapers.

In the early 1960's, Harley decided to buy a farm in Hugo, MN and grow turf sod commercially.  The term "cultured sod" was used to define "farm grown" sod versus "pasture sod".  Harley was and still is an innovator, always looking for a better way to do things.  He built his own mowers and added gadgets to the sod cutters to increase production.  He decided that putting sod on pallets would make it easier to haul and unload at job sites and began building his own.

Harley eventually sold the Hugo Farm and bought the present Farm in North Branch, MN.  He realized that in order to survive the ups and downs of the market, we needed to ship sod to landscapers & contractors in other states and even Canada.  He also realized that in order to keep up with the demand for sod, we needed better equipment.  With the addition of automatic cutters, business began to grow.

Harley's Sod became Harley's Sod Inc. in 1995 when three of the four children decided to join the business.  Two of the three children presently own and operate the Farm.  Kent Johnson, President of Harley's Sod Inc., oversees all production and harvesting operations on the farm. Judy Remitz, Vice President of Harley's Sod Inc., handles the office, customer relations, and the financial end of the business. Two of Harley's Grand Children are also a part of the operation. Darci Laffin works in the office, and Harley Johnson III drives the semi for deliveries, and also helps Kent with field operations.

Harley's Sod, Inc., has now been in business for over 50 years.  We continue to service the entire upper Midwest and Canada with a quality blend of Kentucky Bluegrass.  Thanks to the for site of our founder we have had many "1st's" in the sod industry and continue to develop newer and better ways to grow and harvest sod.  Our commitment to our customers spans three generations, and our company goal continues to be customer service and satisfaction.