Our History
Simpson Sod Company’s founder, Jim Simpson, grew up on a farm in Houston, Mississippi. His family grew sweet potatoes and cotton, raised cattle, and ran a dairy. Jim enrolled at the University of Mississippi with the intent to study business. After he completed his first year, his interest in getting back into farming led him to transfer to Mississippi State in General Agriculture. An elective course in turf grass his junior year introduced him to the concept of sod farming, something he had never heard of. Encouraged by his professor, he completed his degree program and was considered the first Turf Graduate at Mississippi State.
After graduation, he met Martin Beck in Alabama in hopes of starting his own sod farm. Martin Beck was a pioneer at the time in sod farming and was the first to grow Zoysia grass. Beck’s motto was that every piece of grass harvested should be perfect and not have a single weed. Martin Beck was interested in starting a sod farm in the New Orleans area. Together they started a farm just outside Abita Springs and called it Mid-South Turf. The 50 acre farm grew Tifway Bermuda, Emerald Zoysia, Tifgreen Bermuda and Centipede. After a few years in operation they sold the farm to T.L. James.
Jim continued to manage the Mid-South Turf farm, but his heart’s desire was to have his own farm. In 1972, he founded Simpson Sod Company in Covington off Bootlegger Road and Highway 1077. Simpson Sod Company began as a 100 acre farm growing mostly Centipede along with Tifgreen Bermuda and St. Augustine grasses. Jim managed his farm on the principles he had learned from Beck and other men in his life – top quality, excellence in customer service and integrity in all aspects of business.
Simpson Sod Today
Fifty years later, we continue to follow the principles Jim founded Simpson Sod Company on in 1972. Over 45 year later, we have grown to a farm of over 1,000 acres, services offered have changed as well as the variety of grasses we grow, but the principles we were founded on have not. Our goal has been and will continue to be to provide top quality sod and excellent service exceeding our customer’s expectations for all residential and commercial needs.
