Athletic Turf’s Seth Jones sat down with Dana and Tom to learn more about the company, their favorite tools and their use of technology to get the job done.

What should we know about Minnesota Sodding Company?

Dana Groh: We do commercial sod and seed work. Anywhere from installing sod all the way up to seeding, hydro-mulching, erosion control blankets. And then the other half of our company is maintenance. It’s not your normal, everyday maintenance that most people in the green industry consider. It’s athletic field renovations. So that’d be anywhere from topdressing, for example, all the way up to a full field renovation, where the field gets tired and it’s not level anymore.

Where are some of the places I might have seen your work?

Tom Groh: We work as close to home as the Minnesota Twins’ ball field, but we go all over. We do MLS fields, like Sporting Kansas City. We’ve worked for the Cubs. We’ve done work for the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions, the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago White Sox’ training facility and many projects in between.

What are your favorite tools to get the job done?

Tom Groh: Our Caterpillar skid-steers are doing really well for us. This year, we switched our entire fleet. We spent 12 years with another brand, and Caterpillar really put a nice package together. They have a nice machine. We run Echo backpack blowers, they’re just dynamite powerhouses for us. And also our Kubota tractors. Our local dealer, Niebur Implement, really supports us. We can’t complain at all, it’s all about the dealer and we’ve got a great local dealer.

What are some of your strategies on how you hope to make the business successful?

Dana Groh: We’ve been concentrating on a few different strategies. One of our strategies has been concentrating on our 10-year vision as a company. That’s been really helpful for everybody to see what the future vision of MSC is and our path forward, so everybody can work together as a team. Another one of our strategies is continuing to look into the future in technology, to see what will be able to help us and our business, to make us more effective as a company. And then finally, AI. We’re really digging deep into AI and how that will be able to help us. We’re looking at AI as a tool. We consider that one of our big strategies in our path forward.

How is MSC using AI?

Dana Groh: One of the big ones is developing standard operating procedures (SOPs). Before we got going with AI, just the thought of an SOP took so much brain power, the look and the feel. And how are we going to be able to make an effective SOP and make them so they all have the same feel and look? Being able to develop consistent SOPs where everybody can go to the same spot and find them and know what to do with them has been huge.

What is the best part of having your job?

Tom Groh: The best part is watching people grow. It’s pretty fun. And really, I’m a builder — I get satisfaction from watching things improve. Sod really feeds that. You can see instant growth. But watching our people grow, it’s a lot of fun when somebody has an aha moment and they get better. That’s the most satisfaction.

What makes you most proud about MSC and the work you do?

Dana Groh: One of the things I’m really super proud of is our team. We just really have a great team and everybody is always willing to dig in when the schedule gets tight, which is really fun. We will bring in people that don’t always work in the field, like they’re like an estimator. Or Tom and I will go out in the field, and that’s always fun. It’s a good opportunity to work together and do some team building. One of our favorite ballpark projects is at Target Field (home of the Minnesota Twins). We were the labor behind the original installation when the park was new, and now we go back and we help them out when they need help. Say they have a concert, sometimes the outfield will need a little sprucing up after. We’ll come after a concert and put out some new sod for them.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

Tom Groh: A good friend of mine, his father was our mentor when we were in high school. We asked him: “What is the secret to success?” He just sat back and smiled and he goes, “The secret to success is only working half-days.” And we sat there like, sweet, this is going to be awesome! And then he goes, “It doesn’t matter which 12 you work.” So, we’ve been working 12-hour days pretty much since that day.

<p>The post Get to know Dana and Tom Groh of Minnesota Sodding Company first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

Turf Equipment Source has been a trusted provider of professional-grade turf solutions since 2003. Based in Phoenix, the company has built a strong reputation with deep roots in pre-owned equipment sales and field service.

Established in 2011, AgCon Equipment has developed a reputation serving farms, commercial properties and municipalities throughout Canada, including Winnipeg, Manitoba and beyond.

Founded in 1999, Abell Turf and Tractor has grown into a leading supplier of turf and grounds equipment. Supported by a large team of experienced professionals, it sells more than 40 product lines.

Cal Turf Equipment and Supply is a turf equipment dealership serving golf courses, schools, parks departments, community colleges and cemeteries across Northern California.

<p>The post Baroness USA expands dealer network across North America first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

Todd Loecke has been named to succeed Dave Ravel as head of sales, and Gregg Wisniewski has been named head of key accounts, professional solutions, for SPS. 

Loecke began his 35-year career with Syngenta in the crop protection business before joining SPS as a territory sales manager in the Midwest. He has since held several critical leadership positions, including Midwest district sales manager and, most recently, led the key accounts team. 

In his new role, Loecke will guide the entire SPS field sales organization to help customers successfully adopt and gain consistent performance from new innovations recently introduced across professional markets including Atexzo insecticide/miticide, Trefinti nematicide/fungicide, Vykenda insecticide/miticide and Vanecto Cockroach gel bait. 

“Todd’s agronomic expertise, deep customer knowledge, leadership experience and long-standing commitment to Professional Solutions make him the right leader to guide our sales organization forward during an important period of innovation,” said Dave Ravel, head of SPS, North America. “As we continue to bring new solutions to market, Todd’s understanding of customer needs will help ensure our sales teams continue delivering confidence and guidance professionals need to achieve effective control across every segment we serve.” 

Loecke will remain based in Urbandale, Iowa, report directly to Ravel and join the SPS North American Leadership Team. 

Wisniewski has been named head of key accounts for SPS. Wisniewski currently serves as head of business development for North America and brings a combination of global marketing leadership and hands-on key account experience to the role. His previous positions include head of global marketing for ornamentals and garden based in Basel, Switzerland, key account manager in the U.S. and professional pest management market manager. 

In his new role, Wisniewski will lead the SPS key accounts strategy while continuing to support strategic customers as they implement legacy and newly launched solutions. 

“Gregg brings a global perspective and a strong understanding of how innovation translates into customer success,” Ravel said. “His experience across ornamental, turf and professional pest management markets will be especially important as our key account partners adopt new tools and address evolving market challenges.” 

Wisniewski will be based in Greensboro, N.C., report directly to Ravel and remain a member of the SPS North American Leadership Team.

<p>The post Syngenta strengthens leadership team to drive future growth first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

Petry is owner of Greg Petry Consulting, and former executive director/CEO of the Waukegan (Illinois) Park District. Petry also served as president of the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) from 1994-95. 

Goatley is professor and extension turfgrass specialist, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, at Virginia Tech University. He served as president of STMA from 2012-13. 

Presented at the conference by 2025 SFMA president Adam Thoms, Ph.D., the President’s Award is a special honor acknowledging individuals who have made significant contributions to the association and the profession. Petry and Goatley were recognized for their instrumental roles and dedicated service in supporting SFMA through the extensive search process for the organization’s new CEO, Paula Sliefert.  

“Greg and Mike exemplify the very best of SFMA,” said Thoms. “Their commitment, professionalism and willingness to step up during a critical time for our association made a lasting impact. On behalf of SFMA, I am incredibly grateful for their leadership and the integrity they brought to the CEO search process.” 

The recognition took place in front of peers and industry leaders during the conference, highlighting the importance of volunteer leadership and member engagement in advancing the sports field management profession.  

<p>The post SFMA honors two members with 2025 President’s Award  first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

Conversely, the top three home fields with an A rating were all natural grass — and two of those three fields are grassed with Tahoma 31 Bermuda. In fact, half of all NFL natural grass stadium fields are Tahoma 31 surfaces. 

Developed by the turfgrass experts at Oklahoma State University, Tahoma 31 pushes the geographic boundaries of bermudagrass into the northernmost reaches of the Transition Zone. Highly cold-tolerant, the name “Tahoma” comes from the Native American word that means “frozen water.”

Of the 13 NFL teams playing on natural grass, seven had Tahoma 31 on their home stadium field for the 2025-2026 season. In addition, the Kansas City Chiefs have Tahoma 31 at their practice facility, but not yet in the stadium. 

Here’s a breakdown of the Tahoma 31 NFL player preference rankings: 

• A: Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens 
• A-: San Francisco 49rs. This past season marked the team’s inaugural season with the grass. 
• B+:  Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Commanders 
• B-: Cleveland Browns 
• C : Chicago Bears 

<p>The post NFL Players Association Report Card: Players prefer natural grass over artificial turf first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

Envu is a global leader in environmental science, offering solutions to foster healthier environments, manage pests and control vector-borne diseases. Supported by a broad portfolio of established brands and best-in-class innovation capabilities, Envu focuses on professional applications across pest management, turf and ornamentals and vegetation management end-markets. Cary, N.C.-based Envu serves a diverse global customer base across more than 100 countries.  

“We are delighted to welcome GIC as a strategic investor in Envu, marking an exciting new chapter for our Company,” said Gilles Galliou, CEO of Envu.  “I would like to thank Cinven for its steadfast support and strategic guidance, which have been instrumental in driving our growth and success to date. Together with GIC and Cinven, we look forward to accelerating our innovation and delivering even greater value to our customers, employees and communities around the world.”  

Envu was created by Cinven in 2022 through its acquisition of Bayer’s Environmental Science professional business. Since then, Cinven has worked closely with management to drive strong earnings growth, notwithstanding a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, including through the following: 

• Executing a complex acquisition: Cinven executed a complex acquisition to establish a leading independent business with its own corporate identity and brand, standing up supply chain, IT and other enabling functions, also with the support of its Portfolio team. 
• Significantly strengthening the organization: More than 200 new hires have been made since the creation of Envu, including eight new senior leadership members. The company’s systems and processes have also been upgraded. 
• Accelerating organic growth: Leveraging its differentiated position, Envu has implemented a series of commercial best practices and executed more than 15 in-licensing deals to deliver strong organic growth. 
• Buy-and-build: The value-accretive acquisitions of FMC Corp. and In2Care have been completed, together with the Actellic portfolio expansion, broadening Envu’s solutions portfolio and footprint. 
• Operational improvements and organizational best practices: A number of initiatives have been implemented, driving profitability uplift, diversifying Envu’s supply chain and delivering sustainability best practices. 

 “We have been proud to support Envu’s transformation into a leading independent global environmental science platform,” said Pontus Pettersson, partner and head of industrials at Cinven. “We are excited to continue our ownership alongside our valued partner, GIC, working together to support the Company’s next phase of growth and longterm value creation. We believe Envu is well positioned to build on its momentum and further strengthen its leadership in the sector.”

“Envu’s progress … has established a world-class environmental science platform with clear strengths in innovation, portfolio breadth and customer relationships,” said Choo Yong Cheen, chief investment officer of private equity at GIC. “We share Cinven and the management team’s long-term vision and look forward to partnering with them to support Envu’s continued growth.”

<p>The post GIC purchases minority stake in Envu  first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

“This program has allowed our students to explore and experience agriculture in a non-traditional sense and in a way that relates to them,” said Kevin Magill, agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Golden Valley High School. “Members are learning the value of taking care of the sports fields and arenas they play in.” 

The program is specifically designed to focus on sports facilities and how to maintain them, attracting many student athletes to take the class so they have the opportunity to take care of the fields they play on. 

“As someone who plays sports, it’s important to me to have a field that’s ready to play on when it’s game time,” said Grayson Dockstader, a Golden Valley FFA member. “I take pride in knowing not only do I get to play on these fields we tend, but I know how to take care of them.” 

Select members of the Golden Valley chapter who are involved in the turf and sports field management program have had the opportunity to travel to various sporting facilities, including the golf course at Pebble Beach, Oracle Park in San Francisco and the University of Southern California’s Coliseum. One group of students even had the chance to visit and tend to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., before the Super Bowl. 

FFA is a school-based youth leadership development organization in the country with more than 1,042,245 student members as part of 9,407 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

<p>The post Golden Valley FFA students dive into turfgrass industry first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

The award is given to outstanding Ph.D. candidates who, in the final phase of their graduate studies, demonstrated overall excellence throughout their doctoral program in turfgrass research. 

The criteria for selecting award recipients include graduate work, academic record, dissertation, publications, leadership and extracurricular activities.

“It is an incredible honor to be selected as this year’s Musser Award of Excellence recipient, and I’m genuinely humbled to have my name listed among some of the greatest turfgrass scientists,” said Kahiu. “This achievement is owed to the steadfast support of my husband, Matthew, and my family.” 

Kahiu received a Bachelor of Science in environmental horticulture and landscaping technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya, graduating in 2016. She completed a master’s in agronomy in 2022, with a minor in plant pathology, at Penn State University, where her research focused on demethylation-inhibitor fungicides and Clarireedia spp. In 2025, Kahiu earned a Ph.D. in plant, soil and environmental sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she maintained a 4.0 GPA. Her doctoral research examined putting green root-zone organic matter dynamics and turfgrass performance and she has produced multiple peer-reviewed publications.  

Kahiu currently serves as an assistant extension educator of turfgrass and weed ecology at the University of Connecticut. In this role, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in turfgrass and weed science, conducts applied research, advises student organizations and develops professional training programs for turfgrass managers.  

“The Award means a great deal to me, and I am truly thankful to everyone who has guided and encouraged me through my journey, especially Dr. Jim Brosnan, Dr. John Kaminski and Mr. Charles Munyori,” said Kahiu. “Their mentorship has shown me the endless possibilities in this wonderful industry, that I plan to continue serving through my teaching and extension responsibilities at UConn.” 

To date, awards have been granted to doctoral students from universities including: Arizona, Auburn, Cornell, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan State, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. 

Musser International Turfgrass Foundation president Frank Dobie said, “All of the applicants for the Award of Excellence are of the highest caliber. We strive to select the one candidate that we feel is the best of the best and, this year, that was Dr. Kahiu.” 

To learn more about Professor H. Burton Musser, the foundation’s history and past recipients of the award, visit the Musser Foundation website. 

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During his 16-year tenure leading SPS, Reasons oversaw a period of transformational growth, with the business nearly tripling in size across the Americas. Reasons began his career with the company in 1986 and held leadership roles across sales, sales management and marketing before assuming leadership of the Professional Solutions business.

“Scott’s legacy of leadership, passion for winning and commitment to our people and customers has shaped Syngenta Professional Solutions into the leader it is today,” said Simon Elsworth, global head of Syngenta Professional Solutions. “Over the past 16 years, Scott has led extraordinary growth, built a strong and enduring culture and positioned SPS as the partner of choice across our professional markets. At the same time, I am excited for Dave to step into this role. His deep understanding of our customers, his commercial leadership and his ability to inspire teams make him the right leader to continue our momentum and lead SPS into its next chapter. Dave’s commitment to this business is unparalleled. He constantly pushes us all to be better for our customers and distributor partners, and that drive will be invaluable as we move forward.”

Ravel brings over 30 years of experience within the turf, ornamental and pest management industries and has spent more than 25 years with Syngenta and legacy companies, having held leadership roles across sales, marketing and key accounts. Since becoming head of sales in 2012, he has played a pivotal role in strengthening customer relationships, advancing the Syngenta solutions-based approach and supporting growth across golf, lawn care, ornamentals and professional pest management.

“Scott has had an incredible impact on this business — from the culture he helped build to the trust he earned with customers and partners across North America,” said Ravel. “Because of his leadership, our innovation pipeline has accelerated significantly, bringing solutions to market that address real unmet needs for our customers. As a result of Scott’s efforts, SPS is exceptionally well positioned today, and we will ensure business continuity for our customers as we move forward.”

<p>The post Dave Ravel to lead Syngenta Professional Solutions North America as Scott Reasons retires first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>

As CEO, Ranchino will focus on accelerating Profile’s growth strategy, delivering operational excellence, and expanding Profile’s leadership in specialty agriscience materials, while continuing its long-standing commitment to innovation, sustainability and best-in-class customer outcomes.

He joined the company in 2021 as CFO, where he has played a key role in strengthening operational performance and advancing the company’s strategic priorities.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue working alongside our stakeholders as we write the next chapter of Profile’s history,” said Ranchino. “We have an exceptional team, a strong foundation and significant opportunities ahead to expand our impact. I look forward to channeling the company’s momentum into continued investments in innovation and sustainable solutions that help our customers succeed.”

“Mike has been an integral member of Profile’s leadership team and a trusted partner to the Board since joining as CFO,” said Harris Kealey, managing director at New Mountain Capital and a member of Profile’s Board of Directors. “On behalf of the Board, we are confident that Mike’s leadership skills and deep understanding of the business position him well to guide Profile through its next phase of growth.”

Ranchino brings more than two decades of leadership experience to the role. Prior to joining Profile, he held senior finance and operational leadership positions across several large organizations, including US Foods.

<p>The post Profile Products names Michael Ranchino CEO first appeared on Athletic Turf.</p>