HarveStack, a tractor with a computer-operated attachment specifically used for harvesting sod, cuts down on time and labor at the Infante Sod Farm in Millstone.
By: Dana Lynn Flatekval
MILLSTONE Harvesting hundreds of acres of lush, green sod growing on the Infante Sod Farm has never been easier.
The Infante family recently purchased a John Deere-powered Trebro harvester called a HarveStack, a tractor with a computer-operated attachment specifically used for harvesting sod. The family uses it to harvest more than 400 acres of turf on Olde Noah Hunt Road.
The harvester is the brainchild of the Tvetene family, sod farmers who founded Trebro Manufacturing of Billings, Mont., in 1999. The HarveStack is designed to cut, roll and stack sod, reducing time and labor required to harvest rolls of turf.
According to Ian True, national sales manager for Trebro, the harvester costs around $185,000, which includes the tractor and attachment.
"The conventional way of sod harvesting took three people," Joe Infante said. "We only need one man to use the new piece of equipment. It cuts the amount of labor down significantly and makes the process much quicker.
"This is the future of sod farming," Mr. Infante said.
The sod sprouts from seeds and is fertilized about six or seven times a year, Mr. Infante said. He said workers remove the weeds and an irrigation system continually runs to ensure the sod is properly watered. The sod grows very quickly and is maintained every few months. Mr. Infanate said his family harvests the turf from March through December.
According to the John Deere Web site, the machinery harvests 2,500 rolls per hour. Traditional machines harvest 1,000 rolls in the same amount of time.
"The guys on the machines prior to the computerized harvesters were getting worn down after a day of work," Mr. Infante said. "The harvesters we used moved at a slower speed and did not stack the turf. We had to do that by hand."
At the front of the HarveStack is a blade that cuts the sod. The sod travels to the back of the machine on a conveyor belt, where it is rolled. Once there are six rolls, the machine lifts the stack and places it on a pallet or wooden plank that holds the turf.
"It takes two minutes to do one pallet," Mr. Infante said. "That is approximately 500 square feet of sod. This machine is simpler and smaller. It is definitely labor- and cost-effective."
Mr. Infante said once the sod is harvested, it is shipped all over the country to places such as Delaware, Pennsylvania, Staten Island and most of New Jersey.
Mr. Infante said lately developers have been the main clients of the Infante Sod Farm.
"Housing developments don’t use seeded grass anymore, they want sod," he said. "More and more adult communities and housing developments are going up and there is more of a demand for sod."
Mr. Infante has worked the farm for three years and currently owns it with his brother, Carmen Infante Jr., and his father, Carmen Infante Sr. The Infante Sod Farm has been in the family for three generations.

