Bass Sod Farm in Virginia: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Bass Sod Farm in Gladys, Campbell County, Virginia, is a four-generation Virginia Century Farm that replaced tobacco with sod after the 2005 tobacco buyout. Walter Bass was named the 2024 Virginia Farmer of the Year at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, and the farm now works about 2,313 owned and rented acres.
| Location | Gladys, Campbell County, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Founded | More than 100 years ago; designated a Virginia Century Farm |
| Sectors | Sod, soybeans (including organic), timber, sunflowers |
| Scale | 2,313 owned and rented acres, with 205 irrigated sod acres and 1,000 soybean acres, per Campbell County |
| Why it is elite | 2024 Virginia Farmer of the Year; Virginia Century Farm; large diversified Southside operation |
| Ownership | Family owned, four generations |
| Official website | Campbell County Virginia farm profile of Bass Sod Farm |
History of Bass Sod Farm
The Bass family has farmed at Gladys for just over a century across four generations, and the farm is a designated Virginia Century Farm. For most of that history tobacco was the cash crop, as it was across Southside Virginia.
After the federal tobacco buyout, the family started a sod business in 2005. Their son Allen, who studied sod cultivation at Virginia Tech, drove its development. The family has since tried other crops, including canola sold to Virginia Tech dining halls and sunflowers. Walter Bass was named Virginia Farmer of the Year in 2024, and the family was featured in the Sunbelt Expo's Farm Spotlight series.
What Bass Sod Farm Grows and Raises
Sod is grown on 205 irrigated acres in fescue, Bermuda and Zeon zoysia. County reporting lists sod yields of 4,840 square yards per acre. Soybeans are the largest row crop at about 1,000 acres, including an organic block, and about 900 acres are in timber. The farm recently added about 400 acres of rented river land.
Sod is sold directly to landscapers, homeowners and building contractors. Soybeans move by direct contract and through the Virginia Farm Bureau grain division. Marketing is largely word of mouth supported by radio, television, social media and print, plus a monster truck called the Sod Buster that appears at shows, parades and fundraisers.
How Bass Sod Farm Makes Money
Sod sales
Sod is the high-value replacement for tobacco. Selling directly to landscapers, homeowners and contractors keeps the farm close to customers who build or renovate property in nearby cities.
Soybeans and organic soybeans
Soybeans are sold by direct contract and through the Farm Bureau grain division. An organic block adds a premium-market option beside the conventional crop.
Timber and other crops
About 900 acres of timber provide a long-cycle asset, and smaller experiments with canola and sunflowers show how the farm tests new revenue before scaling them.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Bass Sod Farm
The central lesson is that the family chose a new enterprise before the old one fully ended. When the tobacco buyout arrived, sod was ready as a replacement using existing equipment, land and a family member trained in the crop.
Other farms can also copy the direct-to-customer approach and the habit of running small trials. Brand personality, even a monster truck, helps a commodity-like product be remembered.
Anyone who loves farm satire knows that grass is the one crop customers can walk on, and Bass Sod Farm sells it by the square yard. At farm.FM we file the Sod Buster monster truck under farm humor with great affection. Plenty of ranch humor involves trucks, but few farm jokes can match a rolling advertisement that makes the lawn greener on your side of the fence.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact Bass Sod Farm
Website: https://www.campbellvirginia.com/home/pages/bass-sod-farm
No separate farm website, address or phone was found in public sources, so none is listed. Contact Campbell County or the local Virginia Cooperative Extension office to be directed to the farm.
Bass Sod Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Campbell County farm profile - History, acreage and markets for Bass Sod Farm
- Virginia Farmer of the Year send-off - County coverage of the 2024 award
- Campbell County Extension notice - Sunbelt Expo 2024 Virginia Farmer of the Year page
- Virginia Farmer of the Year program - Virginia Cooperative Extension award page
- VDACS agriculture facts - State statistics on Virginia agriculture
Bass Sod Farm FAQ
Where is Bass Sod Farm?
It is in Gladys, in Campbell County, Virginia.
What does Bass Sod Farm grow?
It grows sod in fescue, Bermuda and zoysia, plus soybeans, timber and some sunflowers.
Why is Bass Sod Farm considered elite?
It is a Virginia Century Farm, operates about 2,313 acres, and Walter Bass was 2024 Virginia Farmer of the Year.
How can I contact Bass Sod Farm?
No public website or phone was found, so ask Campbell County or its Extension office.
Bass Sod Farm shows how a Southside Virginia family turned the end of tobacco into a new business. Read the Virginia farms guide and the other profiles for more on the state.