Ron Schiedel still remembers seeding the first crop of sod in 1975 and the first harvest in 1977.  He grew up on a farm in Cambridge with his brother and co-owner Steve. Ron never went to university he explains, “My father and grandfather were very forward thinking men, and I learned everything from them. I felt like they could offer me more practical instruction than any institution. My grandfather and father had the first tractor and green liquid nitrogen in Ontario- I watched them build the foundation for where we are now- it truly is amazing what they accomplished in the agri-world.”  Ron carries on the innovative family trait as he manages the daily operations at Compact Sod in Cambridge. Making sure everything is running smoothly is Ron’s key role. “In a company with so many employees, dealing with people and their personalities is quite a challenge.” Ron’s ability to keep morale high and monitor how people are working together is an admirable asset to his business. The most important tools for Ron are his truck and his phone. He smiles and says “I can’t live without my cell phone and F150. I don’t get to do as much tractor work as I’d like to. It’s something I really miss.” 

For some, the job that Ron does might be overwhelming, but for him, crisis management comes easy. “I’m not a planner” he admits, “Dealing with challenges is easy. I assess the situation, just fix the problem and move on- it’s really that easy”. Ron continues on to explain his love of problem-solving the agri-industry brings, “It’s exciting to solve a problem…I don’t want to do the same thing everyday. I like dreaming and tackling new challenges. The same thing every day would drive me nuts.”

Ron and his team are continually looking for elite varieties of bluegrasses, constantly growing better turf. “This industry is always changing, so we need to change with it- or more importantly AHEAD of it. That’s where my truck and cell phone come in…travelling for further research and being a part of important and relevant associations not only keeps us on our toes, but our customers too.” Ron spends a lot of time researching new techniques and products and figuring out how to effectively implement them into his business. One technique that he has down-pat is making people happy. “We install that value into all our staff. It’s what makes our customers happy- they come back for the service and the quality.”