Ittel describes himself as having been raised on a farm and married "in town," where he spent 30 years as a splicer and lineman for the telephone company. Through much of that time, he raised corn and beans as a part-time farmer. After helping a friend grow bluegrass sod for two years, he started growing it on his own land and now has 350 acres in sod and a thriving business that includes his wife, Phyllis, and their sons, Jeff and Jerry.    In some ways, sod is managed as a conventional farm crop. Soil is prepared much as it would be for corn or beans - fairly fine with the low spots removed, but not so level the water pools. Enough slope for water to drain off naturally is desirable. Grass is seeded with an 18-foot seeder mounted on the front of a tractor. To gain uniform growth, the tractor tires should not cause surface compaction that will prevent germination; so Ittel equips the tractor that seeds and mows, a Ford 7740, with 44-inch wide "TundraGrip" tires on the rear and smooth dragster tires on the front. Mounted on 20-inch rims, the tires are 66-inches high.     <<back