As a dairy farmer 25 years ago, Dick Grefe considered the soil on his lowland meadow to be "worthless black stuff" that couldn't be farmed. Now, with an understanding of the value of organic matter, the Ottertail, Minn., entrepreneur realizes his farm is on a unique site of black peat soil filled with nutrients. University of Minnesota testing indicates it has 77.3 percent organic matter at 6.9 pH with iron, magnesium, nitrate, potassium, phosphorus and other minerals equivalent to 5-20-20 fertilizer. The texture and food value make "Dick's Super-Soil" ideal for homeowners and businesses that work with gardens, lawns, landscaping, golf courses and sports fields.
COMPANY HISTORY
Grefe believes he is withdrawing his "black gold" from a glacial deposit near the continental divide. The northwest corner of the Grefe's fifth-generation, 420-acre farm has rocks, and water flows to the Red River. The southwest side is sandy loam, and water flows to the Mississippi River. An aerial soil survey map shows dark veins through the meadow.
After undergoing an angioplasty at 42, Grefe quit dairy farming and worked in town. In 2003, he rented a small trackhoe to clean out a drainage ditch through the meadow and dug a few test holes. He ran the soil through his manure spreader and discovered crustaceans and seashells in the mix. The university test results helped him recognize his land's potential, which provided the opportunity to do something he always wanted to do - run equipment and drive a truck.
"Some call it dumb luck," Grefe says. "I call it divine intervention."
MINING OPERATION
In Minnesota, Grefe can mine up to 40 acres without special permits. After removing the top layer of sod and roots, he digs out the peat soil with a John Deere excavator, and loads it into a floater truck modified with a 25-yard grain box and a plastic liner for easy dumping. He piles and dries the peat soil for 12 to 18 months before running it through a Screen Machine, Pulverizer II and conveyor system with a 1/8-inch screen and a radial stacker, all of which he purchased used. At first, he loaded dirt into the Screen Machine with his S250 Bobcat skid-steer, and later switched to his John Deere 4240 tractor with an 8-foot bucket.
"The bucket wouldn't pick up that much topsoil, but it's perfect for this," Grefe says. His peat soil weighs 800 lbs./cubic yard, compared to black dirt at 1 ton/cubic yard.
After screening, the peat soil is a consistent, fine texture, ready to be spread and planted with seeds, plants or trees. He recommends adding at least 1 inch to most beds. "It also serves as a weed-preventing mulch," Grefe adds. "In time, rain and worm activity will carry the compost down into the plants' root zone."
GROWING A MARKET
The Grefes have always farmed without a lot of chemicals. Grefe's daughter and her husband are the fifth generation on the farm. They operate a 120-head certified organic dairy.
"It's all about the health of the soil," Grefe says. "I know I've got a complete product."
So far, Dick's Super-Soil has helped everything it's been used on, from houseplants, evergreens and lawns, to flower and vegetable gardens. When customers start new beds or lawns they mix the peat soil into their soil or topsoil, then add a little every year. Most customers start new beds with the soil, then add a little every year - just as fertilizer would be added, without the worries that come with chemical fertilizers. That makes it perfect for using on lakeshore lawns where chemical runoff is a concern.
Customers have reported positive results from using the soil. A Habitat for Humanity home lawn where Grefe provided the soil is more lush and greener than any others in the neighborhood. Customers claimed they grew huge onions and radishes and prolific tomato plants. To announce the birth of his first grandson, Grefe top-dressed his daughter's pasture with "It's a boy" in 1/2-inch of Super-Soil, and that part of the pasture remained greener and taller all summer.
Most of Grefe's market is bulk sales. Customers pick up, or he delivers with a 12-yard 1984 International dump truck. In 2007, he purchased a used bagger and makes 20-pound bags that he sells retail from his home, as well as wholesale to local nurseries and garden centers. Marketing has been word-of-mouth and by attending horticulture and local events. Recently a couple of earthworm suppliers contacted him about buying the soil for worm bedding.
The timing is perfect for his business, Grefe says, as people are more aware of the benefits of healthy organic soil. His product works for gardening techniques such as raised beds and high tunnels, as well as organic lawn dressing.
PLAYING IN THE DIRT
"My wife says you can't call this work," Grefe laughs. "Every time I go out there I don't know what I'll find." He's discovered a beaver dam 8 feet deep with perfectly preserved poplar branches. While working, Grefe has plenty of feathered company. Cliff swallows live in deep holes in the dirt piles and feast on mosquitoes. Robins hop around the drying dirt looking for worms. Geese float on the ponds left from the two 10-foot-deep holes Grefe has dug.
After four years, he has only excavated about three acres. He estimates there are 500,000 cubic yards of Super-Soil on his 20-acre site. "I don't plan on retiring," Grefe says. "I'm having too much fun."
PHILOSOPHY/FUTURE
Grefe believes in his organic soil and is fussy about delivering a consistent, quality product. Through word-of-mouth, the market for Dick's Super-Soil is growing along with the understanding that it's a unique product. It's not topsoil. It's not compost. It's not ordinary peat. And it's not a manufactured blend with unknown ingredients. It is a natural blend of peat soil that adds organic matter and beneficial soil microbes. Grefe sold 4,000 yards in 2007 and expects sales to be much higher this year.
He isn't sure what his father and grandfather would think about his new way of farming, but the timing for quality, organic products is perfect. "I'm selling the farm a yard at a time," Grefe says.