In the Air and On the Ground: Spray Operations Keep Crops Safe

Farmers aren't the only ones that work throughout the year to grow hardy, healthy crops. Spray companies are busy most of the year, applying fertilizer and chemicals to keep crops safe from weeds, insects and diseases. In this harvest issue, we highlight two local spray businesses; one that works on land, and one from the air.

Maco Aviation, Inc.

Aerial applicator Seth Murdock had planned to keep business running at "status quo" when he took over ownership of Wing-Air, renaming the business Maco Aviation, last October. But he knew better than to pass up the addition of a helicopter to his operations when the opportunity presented itself. The copter, piloted by Murdock's brother, Garth, has been up and running for the last several weeks, and will open new doors for the business.

Murdock grew up in Alaska and learned to fly under his father, who was an airline pilot, He earned his commercial license in Oklahoma and spent years flying float planes and air taxis in Alaska. He did crop dusting in Tennessee and Idaho before coming to work for Kevin Winger, owner of Wing-Air, in 2011.

After 28 years skimming the brown, green, and yellow hills of the Touchet Valley, Winger decided it was time to retire and Murdock was ready to take the yoke. Murdock named Maco Aviation, Inc. after his two sons; Max, age 4, and Connor, age 2.

"It's been an exceptional year. I realize you can't count on that to continue, but still, it's been a great first year," Murdock said.

Murdock has one plane available 100% of the time, and has access to three others. He says the business employs four to five "part time to most-of-the-time" employees, depending on the season.

"During the rust run we had five or six guys here, 15 hours a day," he said.

Spray season starts in early February with the application of top dressing (dry fertilizer) on winter wheat. Murdock said they did 50% more top dressing than usual last year.

"It all depends on how the soil samples come back and whether or not the farmer wants to spend the money," Murdock said.

Herbicides are applied to wheat in March and April. Murdock said this was a big year for stripe rust, a fungus, which will decimate wheat a crop if left untreated. Insecticide work on peas typically starts in late May and runs through June and into July.

"Now we're doing more herbicide Round-Up work on pre-harvest wheat and peas. The Round-Up will get rid of the weeds and helps dry out the pea stalks," Murdock said.

"We'll start to slow down a bit, but Round Up work will continue through the summer. Last fall was big for cheat grass in the new winter wheat. We were pretty busy through November into December last year," he added.

When asked about the benefits of aerial application versus ground application, Murdock pointed to speed and technique.

"Air is usually faster, doesn't leave tracks and you don't drive through the crop. Obviously, you're not limited by wet ground. It's debatable, after that, which does a better job," he said.

Murdock operates out of a triangulation of air strips in Huntsville, Walla Walla and Clyde. The Huntsville airport, which was originally built by the Bickelhaupt family to train pilots after World War II, serves as home base.

Murdock said that most of his business has been limited to a 50 mile radius, becuase the planes must return to the air strips to reload and refuel. The addition of the helicopter has changed that, however.

"The helicopter doesn't need an air strip to land and it has a truck that carries its fuel and chemical so it's completely mobile," Murdock said. "Add that to the fact that we now have a second in-house vehicle and it gives us a lot more options. Some that may not even be ag work."

The decision to purchase a helicopter came about when Murdock's brother, Garth, expressed an interest in working in the area. Garth has 25 years in the helicopter industry, in both maintenance and flying, Murdock said. He has been employed as the chief pilot for a helicopter business in Homer, Alaska for the last eight to 10 years.

Maco purchased the copter out of Vancouver Island, Canada and brought it to Idaho to complete all the import paperwork. The brothers brought it to Waitsburg where they added spray gear and a GPS system, and have had it running for the last several weeks.

Murdock also has a helicopter license, and says he plans to brush up on his skills so that he and Garth can trade off.

When asked if "crop dusting" is proper terminology, Murdock conceded that it probably isn't.

"When they first started, the planes put out a lot of sulphur dust which was used as an insecticide. In the 15 years I've done it, I've never put out dust. But the name stuck and people know what you're talking about. Technically, it's aerial application," he said.

Murdock said one of the biggest challenges in the aerial application business is that everything seems to happen at once.

"If I could spread the work out evenly over the year I could do a ton. Trying to have enough equipment and help on hand to accommodate everyone and organize that whole thing gets a little chaotic. It keeps you on your toes, though," he said.

For Murdock, challenge is among the things he likes most about the business.

"It's all your own judgment, alone. Kind of seat-of-the-pants flying. There's not a book for it. You just have to figure it out," he said.

Murdock can be reached at the office phone (509) 337-6481 or interested parties may stop by the office located at 36039 Highway 12, just east of Waitsburg.

L-C Applicators, Inc.

WAITSBURG – A third generation of the Cole family is helping run the family-owned and operated, L-C Applicators, Inc. spray business, based out of Waitsburg. Ken Cole, Sr. started the business in 1999, and Dan Cole took over operations from his father in 2004. Today, Dan's sons, Brandon and Tyson, work for the business full-time.

Cole is no stranger to self-employment. In addition to L-C Applicators, he owns Waitsburg Grocery; Touchet Valley Communications, an internet business; and is a partner in the Whiskey Canyon Sports Bar & Grill.

Cole decided to take over the spray business that was "doing fairly well" when his dad began talking about wanting to retire. At that time, operations focused on tree treating, lawn care, pest control, and work for the Port, but they didn't do any agricultural work.

Interestingly, Cole said his dad had started off as an ag pilot and was a partner, along with Bob Patton ad Bernie Hill, in Tilted Acres, an aerial application spray business in Waitsburg, that used crop dusters and helicopters, years ago.

L-C Applicators stepped into the farming world in 2010, when Cole purchased a brand-new GVM Prowler self-propelled sprayer with 90-foot booms and a 10-wheeler that can carry 3200 gallons of water, and is equipped with chemical cages.

"That's when the big stuff started," Cole said.

The large equipment makes it easy for a farmer to let L-C Applicators take care of their spray needs. L-C Applicators goes directly to the chemical company, picks up the chemicals, water, recommendation sheets and maps for the farmer. Then they head out to do the actual spraying.

Cole said many farmers own their own spray rigs, but will hire L-C so that they don't get behind when that equipment is tied up.

"Most don't have self-propelled sprayers. They have ones they pull behind their tractors. But during harvest those tractors are tied up doing other things. So they hire us for the things they can't get done," Cole said. "The majority of our business is repeat customers," he added.

Cole said there is a "huge benefit" to ground spraying versus air spraying.

"You just get more gallons per acre on the crop. That airplane's typically spraying three-to-five and we're spraying a minimum of 10," he said.

"We have big, floater tires and skinny tires. Right now, both machines have got skinny row crop tires on. So they're running through the crop that's going to be harvested, burning down all the weeds in the crop so the farmer can actually cut the crop. We're putting up to15 gallons an acre on those. And we put up to 20 gallons an acre on all the alfalfa. They're just water fanatics," he said.

Cole said the L-C spray season typically beings with alfalfa work in December and January, depending on what Mother Nature is doing, and runs through October.

"We ended last year by spraying alfalfa again. Last year we worked 12 months, basically," Cole said.

L-C Applicators employs up to six employees from April through September, and keeps three to four full-time employees the remainder of the year.

The business serves customers "from Pendleton to LaCrosse, and everything in between." One of the main challenges is keeping up with demand when everyone needs work done at once.

"We do lose some acres because we get too booked up but typically we can keep everyone at bay and don't lose them," Cole said.

This year's unusually wet spring was a particular challenge, with some wheat going unsprayed until things dried out.

"This was the wettest year that anyone can remember on record and we did bury our machines a couple of times, and that wasn't pretty. When you bury one of those, I'm here to tell you, you're stuck!" he said, laughing.

"Typically, things go pretty smoothly, though. This was the first year ever, that I remember getting anything stuck," he added.

Cole said all of his employees have to be licensed as commercial operators and he has to be licensed as a commercial applicator. Different licenses are required for each category (residential, agricultural, industrial) and application.

In addition to agricultural work, LC Applicators cares for Port property, treats trees, and performs pasture work and pest control. They use a Massey Ferguson Tractor with a 15 foot batwing general mower to mow hundreds of acres each year. Cole said LC Applicators is well-versed in tree diagnosis and treatment and charges $20 per tree to treat for aphids, which includes labor and chemicals.

"We are locally owned and operated and we pride ourselves on customer service. With all the repeat customers we have, I think we're doing a pretty good job, but we can always use more customers," Cole said.

L-C Applicators can be reached at (509) 520-1117 or visit their website at lcapplicators.com.