A Father and son quad bike team are proving that quad bikes can get to parts that other forms of transport cannot reach. The two tackle fruit fly pests in orchards in New Zealand with chemical sprayers.
The job of spraying large orchards is typically down to helicopters. However, helicopters cannot reach all parts of the orchards or farms and this is where the father and son team come into play with their farm quads. The pair wake up a 4:00 am and visit farms in a 31 mile radius of their home in Western Cape with their Honda 500 cc utility ATVs. Along with helping to defeat fruit fly the duo use chemicals to help get rid of weeds and mildew.
Early morning is the best time to start work while it is light and cool. Work for the duo generally starts at 5:00 in the morning when they arrive at the first farm. The pair use mobile phones which helps them to co-ordinate and ensures they reach all parts of the orchard. They continue working until 10.30 am when they take a break and then start again around 4:00 pm and continue working until around 8.30pm. Quite often they will also use their quad bikes in between fruit fly spraying to help distribute pellets or attack weeds.
The team are able to tackle around 260 hectares a day and this often means visiting five or so farms, depending on the size.
The pair started off small and now the Agri Quad business is blooming with around 50 difference clients and steadily growing.