Our Legacy
For the past 75 years and four generations, the Ruppel Family has farmed in Fort Morgan, Colorado, growing corn, alfalfa, sugar beets, pinto beans, and raising cattle in the winter. Beginning in 1986, Dick Ruppel, along with his parents Richard and Joanne, created Horizon Turf Nursery to add turfgrass production to the farily’s portfolio. The sod farm was established on just 15 acres to produce HTN Kentucky Bluegrass sod. Over the years, Horizon Turf Nursery has expanded to nearly 200 acres of turfgrass, adding our proprietary HTN 90/10 Fescue, HTN Hybrid Texas Bluegrass and drought-resistant Tahoma 31 Bermuda to the farm’s offerings. Our family history informs every blade of grass we sell. We stand behind our product as a matter of family pride.
Leadership
We are one of the top turf farms in Colorado.
OWNER
ACCOUNT MANAGER
FARM MANAGER
Sustainability
We at Horizon Turf Nursery believe in sustainable agriculture. We grow grasses that require less water and less fertilizer. Our hybridized grasses meet Colorado’s requirements for environmentally-friendly plant material. Our sod grasses tamp down soil erosion, reduce the threat of heat islands, and create greenspaces for families to enjoy sports and recreation. We even partner with a neighboring dairy farm to utilize their naturally produced nutrients (cow manure) as fertilizer in our fields. This is just one more practice that helps us to achieve our sustainability goals and reduces our carbon footprint.
Where You'll See Our Grass
Horizon Turf Nursery partners with some of the region’s best-known professional landscape companies to grass lawns, sports fields, campuses, and commercial facilities with our high-quality turfgrass sod. Here are just a few of the many locations where our grass has been installed. Some projects of note include: CU Boulder; local high schools and middle schools; Buc-ee’s, Johnstown, CO; and some of the finest homes in our region’s most desirable neighborhoods, including Cherry Hills Village and Greenwood Village, among others across The Front Range.
Dick Ruppel grew up in a farming family. The Ruppels farmed corn and alfalfa in Morgan County for generations. He became interested in sod production while working on a sod farm during the summer while still in high school. Upon graduation from Fort Morgan High School, he pursued training in turfgrass management at Northeastern Junior College and convinced his parents that expanding into sod production would be a viable option to only rely on farming commodities. While the family still farms about 230 acres of corn silage or alfalfam now, nearly 40 years later, the sod farm DIck envisioned has grown into a leading source of high-quality turfgrass sod in Colorado. Though his father retired from farming several years ago and his mother passed away in 2010, the family tradition continues. Dick’s son Wyatt graduated from New Raymer High School in 2021 and decided to come work for the farm. Says DIck, “He has brought a love of farming and technology that has been quite useful.” DIck jokes and calls himself “the sod whisperer,” but his jest is not far off the mark. He has an uncanny ability to look at a field and know on sight whether it needs water, fertilizer or other inputs. Delivering healthy, green sod is his passion and it shows in every single pallet that leaves the farm.
For more than 30 years, Jason has helped our customers receive the right grass for their project, on time and on schedule. A longtime Colorado resident, Jason joined Horizon Turf Nursery in 2007. He has earned turfgrass management continuing education through Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) and Turfgrass Producers International (TPI)I. Jason says he enjoys the relationships he has built with local sod growers, landscapers, contractors, and clients of Horizon Turf Nursery. “It is gratifying to know the satisfaction the client, and the client’s customer gets when Horizon Turf Nursery puts the final touch on a project,” Jason says. His daily duties include scheduling, and dispatching delivery drivers and installation crews, supervising installation projects, sales, and wholesale account management. He particularly excels at communication between customers, employees, drivers and installers.
Growing up on the farm, Wyat (DIck’s son) always knew he was destined to be a sod farmer and his passion for it came early. He worked on the farm part-time as a teenager. Upon graduation from high school, Wyatt joined the team full-time as Farm Manager. Wyatt excels at operating large equipment, with a specialization in sod equipment operations. “The fun part about my job is that every day is a mystery of what it will be. I could be spraying chemicals, working dirt, or maybe everything breaks and I have to fix it,” Wyatt says. “On a daily basis in the mornings, I cut the sod, almost every pallet that goes out I cut.”
Odin’s job title says it all. Napping is his main duty and his goal each day it to find the shadiest spot on the farm to take a snooze. In the summer heat, as the sun’s path travels across the sky, Odin follows the shade as it moves around the farm. Whnen he locates his next shady spot, nestles into the cool grass like a pro. Wyatt says Odin’s favorite toy isn’t a toy. It’s food. He’s a big, black, fat dog and we love him. You will, too. Be sure to say hello if you visit the farm.