FARMERS GET MUCH-NEEDED AIR SUPPORT

Iron Horse Aviation gets up close and personal with crops using helicopters for aerial applications

From the cockpit of his helicopter hovering above of acres and acres of corn and soybean fields, Colt Zesch can see what makes Iowa an agricultural leader. As owner, CEO and chief pilot of the aerial application business Iron Horse Aviation, he, too, plays a key role in making sure the state maintains that reputation.

Iron Horse Aviation was founded in 2016 and currently operates in Newton and Marshalltown. Zesch and his fleet of six helicopters and various contracting pilots offer a variety of services for farmers, like fungicide, insecticide, herbicide, foliar feed, test strips, field surveys and any other request the crew can muster.

Outside of aerial application, Zesch said Iron Horse Aviation also does utility work, trainings with military members, tours, power line patrol and skydiving services, and it is also looking at combating fires in the future. Zesch is doing everything he can “to keep the birds flying yearround.”

During the growing season, aerial applicators are extremely important in preventing yield loss for Iowa farmers. Diseases like tar spot can run rampant through a cornfield and severely diminish the yield and quality of the crop. From the moment the seed goes into the ground, farmers are hit with obstacles.

Which is where a business like Iron Horse Aviation comes in to play.

“Seeds can only produce so many bushels per acre, and we are just one of those pieces of the pie that helps prevent yield loss,” Zesch said. “Fungicide is the biggest thing they figured out years back. It doesn’t create more bushels per acre. That’s kind of the wive’s tale. It just prevents bushels being lost.”

Oftentimes aerial application is conducted by planes. Iron Horse Aviation specializes in using helicopters as applicators. Zesch said farmers benefit from helicopters being able to fly slower and closer to the crop, which also improves the accuracy of the fungicide being applied.

“On average, we’re 70 to 80 mph spraying the fields,” Zesch said. “Airplanes are 140 mph on average, up to 160 mph. I don’t care how good of a pilot you are, by the time you drop in over power lines and trees and by the time that product is actually touching the corn, that pilot is already halfway through the field.”

Farmers are catching on to the use of helicopters, too. Zesch said these types of aircraft have been aerial applicators for years, more and more farmers are seeing the upsides to helicopters. Of course, good pilots make all the difference when it comes to aerial application, whether it is planes or helicopters.

Which is why Iron Horse Aviation pilots are always trying to improve their skills and the way they spray crops. Zesch said there is so much science and calibration involved in their work. Iron Horse Aviation regularly pattern tests its aircraft and equipment to make sure pilots are as efficient as possible.

“We sink a lot of money into technology and into trying to make ourselves better, even from what we are doing,” Zesch said. “It’s pretty unresting. We continue to try and better ourselves and just do the right thing. We’ve been able to grow each year, every year, just by doing the right thing.”

Iron Horse Aviation opened its newest site this year in Newton, opening up its business to the many Jasper County farmers. Many employees are veterans or farmers themselves. Zesch is proud the business is able to serve families and preserve an agricultural way of life in the state.

“One of the biggest rewards is we really try to hire Christians, farmers or veterans within our company, and we have quite a few of those,” Zesch said. “It’s honestly quite the joy to know that God’s given us a company to be able to feed other people and grow.”

Although Zesch is a veteran, he never piloted any aircraft in the military. But he had plenty of experience jumping out of planes as a paratrooper. When he returned to civilian life, he bought his first helicopter without even knowing how to fly it. Zesch then combined his passion for aviation with the family trade.

Farming has been a way of life in Zesch’s family for more than century. Both his dad and his 93-year-old grandpa are still farming. With that background in farming fueling his efforts (he’s also working a cattle operation in tandem to working in the air), Zesch knows how important yields are to farmers.

“I got into it because we farm,” he said. “…We just want to keep going. As long as we keep getting good people and being able to feed more families, it’s wonderful to just keep moving in that direction. We’re very happy to go wherever God takes us.”

— Christopher Braunschweig