With the recent weather in west central Saskatchewan, air spraying services are likely to be in high demand this year according to the owner of Kindersley Air Spray Colin Bevan. They're gearing up for what they expect to be a busy year, and Bevan says they should be able to keep up with the demand as long as they have some advanced notice.

"Our expectation is we're going to be in high demand and, rather than phoning up two days before you decide you need something done, it's far better to be letting us know what you're seeded acres are well in advance, that it's something that you're considering doing, and have a good conversation well ahead of the the expected application date so that we can work with our other operators and make sure that we have the equipment required to get it done. If you wait till the last minute, you're more than likely going to get told 'we're too busy' and it'll just be difficulties meeting timelines. So having good communication well in advance is what we're really trying to promote."

While they have six planes in their own fleet, Bevans and his team are planning to team up with a spraying unit out of Humboldt again this year to help manage the load in what will be a busy year. Because of this partnership and the way the growing season around Saskatchewan tends to go, they are able to make sure they have more planes available to each area at any given time.

"We've always maintained good relationships with our fellow operators. We worked with a fellow, particularly from out east because he's far enough apart geographically that he doesn't face the same challenges at the same time. So when I'm at max capacity, he can come and assist me and vice versa. His season usually starts a little earlier so we can go east and help them and and it works quite well."

Another partnership that Kindersley Air Spray is quite proud of is the work that they do with STARS Air Ambulance. With the recent incident in Kindersley that required STARS' presence, Bevan played a role that helped their helicopter get back in the air quickly and make sure that they wouldn't have any trouble making it back to the city.

"We have a strong relationship with STARS. Whenever they're in an emergency situation in Kindersley (and area) doing a pickup, we'll supply them with fuel and we did that as recent as yesterday, and for every acre that we spray, we make a financial contribution back to stars on behalf of the west central community."

As for the work they do on a day-to-day basis, there is going to be some changes this year that farmers are probably already noticing. Prices on chemicals have went up, and while Kindersley Air Spray have managed to keep their prices down for a fair amount of time, that's unfortunately going to change.

"We certainly have faced some dramatic increases in insurance and fuel costs and carbon tax and the rest, just like our crop producers, but we've maintained the same prices for quite a lengthy period of time. We're going to have to make a small increase this growing season going forward, though."

To inquire about the many services Kindersley Air Spray offers, call 306-463-4600.