| 71 Wet weather helps HeliOps Southland HeliOps is the only dedicated agricultural helicopter company in Southland. Russell Fredric Far from being grounded during Southland’s horrendous spring last year, HeliOps was busier than ever. Owned by Roger and Kirsty Preston, the agricultural aerial services business faced a considerable increase in its workload due to the soft conditions on grass pastures, Roger says. Bulk fertiliser trucks would normally crank up from about late August, but last year HeliOps was doing aerial fertiliser until late October. “All the bulkies (fertiliser trucks) couldn’t get on the paddocks so we did, probably, two-and-a half months of putting fertiliser on whereas we normally would only do a month at that time of year.” “Normally we put some fertiliser on late July-early August when the soil temperature gets around eight degrees before the first grazing and then normally it dries up and the bulkies generally take over for the second and third round of fertiliser spreading, but this season we pretty much did all three rounds and then the bulkies managed to get on the ground after that.” The only dedicated agricultural helicopter company in Southland, HeliOps has three helicopters: a Robinson R44, a Bell Jet Ranger and an Airbus AS350 ‘Squirrel’. These machines offer considerable flexibility for the types of operations that can be covered, with the nimble R44 ideal for smaller jobs, to the Squirrel with its 800kg/800 litre capacity suited to heavy lifting or efficiently spraying large areas. The company covers a wide area of Southland and beyond to coastal areas with work including spreading solid fertilisers and aerial spraying for agriculture and forestry in addition to work for the Department of Conservation, Environment Southland and corporates. HeliOps helicopters use Tabular (formerly TracMap) equipment for application and proof of placement of fertiliser and chemicals for maximising efficiency and for compliance purposes. During busy periods and when the weather has created a backlog of work, HeliOps can call on additional to clear any backlog to ensure a good standard of service is maintained. As farmers themselves, Roger and Kirsty are acutely aware that the success of the business hinges on the level of service provided. “Knowing the farmers business it’s easier to understand what they want and that we can help them achieve that.” This deep agricultural understanding is complemented by HeliOps pilots’ knowledge of the farms they operate on which is positive for safety when it comes to knowing the lay of the land and where hazards are. The company has a vital role in the annual farm cycle through the application of fertiliser, trace elements and pelletised limes improving animal health and enabling year-round feed, while herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and insecticides RURAL SERVICES » HeliOps Southland eliminating pests and diseases also contribute to the success of valuable crops. HeliOps can also help with stock control on areas inaccessible by land vehicles such as bush blocks, stations and rugged terrain. The wet spring means the usual late summer/ early autumn cycle is also out of sync, Roger says. “The dairy farmers all put their brassicas in now and because they’re all a month late getting them sown they’re putting fertiliser on now trying to encourage as much growth as they can before the 1st of June.”
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