Childhood sweethearts turned business power couple, Rob and Sandy Martin are helping Warrnambool farmers get the best out of their crop, by taking to the skies.
Using the latest technologies through their aerial spreading and spraying business, Otway Helicopters, the pair help Victorian farmers to avoid damage to pastures and soil to deliver the best results.
Seated behind the controls of his helicopter, Rob hovers above southwest Victoria's rolling green hills, day in, day out.
"We use a Eurocopter AS350 B2 Squirrel, which is a single-engine light utility helicopter. It's not just a passenger helicopter, it's a real work horse and built to lift," he said.
A seasoned pilot, Rob has spread urea and fertiliser blends over some of the nation's most productive farmland.
"The main reason farmers use us is because they don't want to do any damage when taking tractors through their pastures," Rob said.
"It's a wet climate in the Western District of Victoria so there's a lot of rain in the wintertime, meaning softer ground. If you send a tractor through that paddock to spread fertiliser, you're looking at damage to the soil from wheel marks and an overall loss of production. Aerial spreading takes that completely out of the equation."
The pair have known each other nearly their entire lives. Growing up on neighbouring properties, agriculture runs through their blood.
"We were both raised on dairy farms in the same district. I always knew I wanted to work in agriculture, so I left school at 15 and did just that," Rob said.
The pair briefly went their separate ways when Sandy's family went up north to work on cattle stations.
But it wasn't long until they were reunited when Rob found himself working on the same cattle station as Sandy in his early twenties. What began as a childhood friendship soon blossomed into romance.
"I got called up to do helicopter work, looking for lost cattle in the red gum country, which was for Sandy's boss. I guess it was fate," Rob said.
"Our lives rekindled and we moved back down south, got married and started a family together."
The couple returned to familiar territory, starting a dairy farm in Victoria's southwest. But life on the land comes with its share of hardship.
"We worked in the dairy industry for about a decade but the drought at the time almost finished us off, it was so tough," Rob said.
With two young children, Rob and Sandy were determined to find a steady income. Armed with a helicopter licence and a lifetime of farming expertise, the pair took a punt in 1997 and started Otway Helicopters.
"We pretty much got the bug for it and went in, boots and all. We decided if we were going to do it, we were going to do it properly," Sandy said.
And they did. Otway Helicopters has serviced Victorian farms from the skies for the past 26 years.
"It's work that requires lots of co-ordination, something we've worked on for years. These helicopters are expensive to run, so we've got to make sure everything is in place," Rob said.
While Rob takes care of business in the clouds, his wife Sandy manages operations from below, ensuring everything is where it needs to be.
"In the morning we send the trucks filled with fertiliser off to the farms we are servicing that day," Sandy said.
"Then we need to transfer the fertiliser into the bucket that will hang from the helicopter. It has to be the exact amount required per hectare, so it's really important we get it right.
"When Rob flies in we have everything ready to go. We use a 'hook and go' solution so it's a quick turnaround from landing to take off."
Helping keep the job on track is Rob and Sandy's arsenal of Kubota machinery.
"We were using old and slow machinery to shift the fertiliser into the buckets and it was slowing down our work," Sandy said.
"Our friends down at AgriMac Warrnambool convinced us it would be the best investment for our operations and overall business," Rob said.
"I was reluctant to try out a new piece of equipment at the time, to be honest, but they were a massive support in finding the right machinery and after the first day we were hooked. Having the Kubota Track Loaders has made our operations flow and we can move from farm to farm quicker.
"Damo and the AgriMac team have given us so much guidance with setting up the equipment, and the ongoing support to maintain our machinery has been incredible. They've taken the hassle out of it all.
"They also showed us how to use the Kubota technology to weigh the exact amount of fertiliser required per hectare. It's helped us get the highest yields and best results for our clients," Sandy said.
Like the thousands of pastures the pair have tended to over the years, Rob and Sandy pride themselves on their growth.
"We've worked with some of the same families since the very beginning. We've seen their kids grow up and they've seen ours. But we have also been fortunate enough to work with new clients and we hope that continues," Sandy said.
For Rob and Sandy, they pride themselves on being a family-owned and operated business. As they continue to support Victoria's Western District agricultural community, they continue to rely on Kubota machinery.
