Business Rural North Winter 2021

| 47 RURAL SERVICES » Farmers Air C ommitted to remaining at the forefront through technology and innovation, aerial topdressing specialist Farmers Air has now in- vested in a precise variable rate application system to ensure the right amount of the right fertiliser is placed where it’s needed, and not where it’s not. The Intellispread system activates automatic hopper doors so they are closed over areas where aerial spreading would be wasteful or environmen- tally unacceptable, and varies the rate of fertiliser applied through computer-controlled hopper doors that are working to a map which has been wire- lessly uploaded to the plane. Farmers Air has been in the business of ensuring certainty around the aerial application of fertiliser since 1977. The family-owned agricultural aviation company covers one million hectares from the Mohaka River through to the East Cape and back to the ranges, with the occasional job in the Bay of Plenty and the Waikato. The majority of Farmers Air’s workload is in the application of solid fertiliser, but the company also has the capacity for seeding work, thistle spraying, and rural fire fighting support. Farmers Air owner and chief pilot Andrew Hogarth says he has been waiting for an automated hopper controller that would use algorithms to account for product ballistics. “The superphosphate we spread comes in pellet form down to a superfine dust,” he says. “I wanted a system that would account for plane speed, wind speed, and for how far and how fast the product travels when it leaves the plane.” A big concern for automated hopper doors, when a pilot who manually operates the door has the ability to take the ballistics of the product they are carrying into account. “We found the Intellispread system was able to work this out much better than some of the other offerings.” Precision application system ensures certainty Kelly Deeks “I wanted a system that would account for plane speed, wind speed, and for how far and how fast the product travels when it leaves the plane.” PROUD TO SUPPORT FARMERS AIR For all you servicing and eet servicing needs, froma simple oil change andWOFs &COFs tomajor transmission or engine diagnostics services. At SutherlandAutomotive, our teamof trained and certi ed technicians are equipped to handle every type of automotive service or repair. (06) 867 7843 lance@sutherlandautogas.co.nz Andrew says Intellispread’s placement verifica- tion gives farmers the data they need to provide to the policy makers to prove they are following best practices. “We know we’re doing best practices because we’ve been sowing these farms for more than 40 years,” he says. “The regional councils here in Gisborne say we don’t have phosphate levels increasing in the waterways since they’ve been monitoring them, so this placement verification data is going to provide another level of certainty to the powers that be.” Farmers Air is well aware that in a constantly changing world, businesses and service providers must change along with it. Because this place- ment data is now required by farmers, it is down to Farmers Air to enable its clients to carry on their businesses. “We are looking after the best practice of our clients with technology. We have chosen the Intellispread system because we wanted to make sure it was fit for purpose and that our clients were going to get what they thought they were getting.” While Farmers Air top dressing pilots have always kept superphosphate out of ineffective, environ- mentally vulnerable, and culturally sensitive land, farmers are also doing a fantastic job according to Andrew. “You’ve only got to fly around to see the money they’re spending on planting out waterways, and they’re starting to go further than that. These places are starting to look magnificent.” The Intellispread system used by Farmers Air gives farmers the data they need to provide to the policy makers to prove they are following best practices.