Hometown friendly service is the goal of Advantage Ag Air

It’s been 3 years since the beloved Grygla couple were killed in a plane crash on their way to Alaska. The accident happened in northern British Columbia on June 1st, 2015.

Since their passing, I’ve visited the Holte farm twice. The first time was a very emotional, somber drive in. I sat on the front porch with the Holte sons while they shared so many memories of their parents with me. It allowed me to write yet another story about Jim and Gloria, this one a lot harder to tell. In spite of their grief, though, the family was still so welcoming and friendly that day…qualities that carried over from their parents.

Last week, my family and I visited the Holte farm again. Driving in, that same life and energy I remember from a few years ago, was back. The hanger was open, this time with a new plane being put away for the night. The farm was busy and operating, the grill was warming up for a cookout, and another plane was flying onto the home airstrip ready to call it a day! Everything Jimmy had hoped and planned for in his retirement has finally come to be - Advantage Ag Air is operating out of the farm and the planes are still flyin’! 

The Holtes have got to be beaming up there…

Advantage Ag Air started in 2007 in Warren, Minnesota. Owner, Aaron Peterson, first learned the business from his dad, who aerial sprayed for 37 years. Owning his own plane and getting to know the Holtes through the business and numerous conventions, Aaron had visited the Holte farm a lot over the years. When Jim knew it was time to retire, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He asked Aaron if he wanted to buy him out and spray out of Grygla. Aaron would eventually buy the plane, equipment and leftover inventory, take over the Grygla customers and operate out of the Holte farm, using the air strip and hanger. That all came to be in 2014.  

A couple of years prior, in 2012, Aaron brought Riley Farder on board the aerial business. Riley, who also knew the Holtes for years, had known Aaron for quite some time. “He brought me, showed me a shiny airplane and asked if I wanted to fly it,” Riley laughed. 

The pilots got down to business. 

Currently, Riley is operating the Grygla side of things, living at the Holte farm and operating off the James & Gloria Holte Airfield, while Aaron is based out of Warren. Advantage Ag Air currently serves Northwest Minnesota, spraying for growers all around the region. When things slow down a bit up here, they even fly their planes out of state. “They are ramping up in Kansas on winter wheat, so we’ll go down there and help out friends if they are swamped – usually the end of April, early May,” said Riley. 

Things are definitely not slow here now, however! There’s a time and place for Advantage Ag Air, to which Aaron laughed and said every day is the best time and place! “There’s nothing we can’t do on a farm that any other piece of equipment on a farm can’t do as far as application,” the pilots agreed. 

Last week, we all sat down on Tuesday evening after a very busy day. So busy, in fact, that a third plane was called in to help the guys with the dry work. The business prides itself on timeliness. They’ll bring in as many airplanes as needed, saying they have a large network of trusted people in the business. 90% of the time, it’s Aaron and Riley alone, but they never hesitate to bring in help get the job done. This particular day, Dan Geist, a pilot out of Crookston, flew in to help, as he has the same set up as Aaron and Riley. The crew was operating out of the Grygla airport as they say it’s set up perfectly for dry work. The dry work couldn’t be done without a specialized piece of equipment, which Advantage Ag Air has purchased, saying they are always willing to upgrade to necessary equipment. The new auger truck was parked at the Grygla airport and the hustle and bustle was a sight to be seen!

The crew was topdressing wheat for growers around Grygla that Tuesday, June 5th. With the Grygla air strip being wide open, it’s safer to have multiple airplanes running at the same time. Let’s look at the stats! At 100 pounds per acre, each plane can topdress 25 acres per load every 8-10 minutes at 66 feet wide. Which means about every 10 minutes the planes were flying in and out of the Grygla airport. As mentioned, it was a sight to be seen. One plane would leave, another would come in, drive up and park, get the hopper filled with the auger truck, give a thumbs up, a quick wave and off they’d fly! At one point in the day, all three planes were even on the same field! The trio communicates beforehand, setting their AB lines, and fly about power line high, keeping the speed of the planes at around 140 mph. 

The loader truck on the ground has a scale on it to make sure each plane is properly loaded. Riley pointed out that they are very fortunate to have a good crew with them on the ground. They communicate all the numbers via hand signals and, “Without them,” he says, “We couldn’t do our job. The people on the ground make this business run.”

The ground crew for Advantage Ag Air includes Blake Farder, Riley’s nephew. Blake lives in Tabor and just graduated high school. He will be attending the U of M in Crookston this fall to become an Ag pilot, as well! Andrew Kilian, another member of the ground crew, is originally from South Africa, but currently lives in Argyle and helps out seasonally. Last, but not least, Lucian Tinnes, who will be a senior at Grygla High School this coming fall, is also a part of the ground crew for the aerial spray business. At the airport last week, he was all smiles amongst the noise and commotion, saying, “It’s such a fun job with these guys!”

When the guys aren’t busy doing dry work, it’s a lot of herbicide application. This side of the business is operated out of the Holte Airfield as there are two different loading sites there. 

As for the airplanes themselves, you’ll notice the birds in the sky are yellow and blue; they come standard that way. Riley flies an Air Tractor 502XP while Aaron’s is a 502B. Jimmy’s was a 301, which was smaller than what Advantage Ag Air currently operates, thus it was traded off in the winter of 2014. 

When reflecting on their time with Jim, both Aaron and Riley said they received flight instruction from him, including biannual flight reviews. Aaron also received his tailwheel endorsement from Jim. Riley shared, “Jim was one of the first people I met in this industry. Meeting him and Gloria and seeing what wonderful people they were, and the wonderful life they led together, it’s the type of life most people strive for.”

As a new member of the Grygla community, Riley is striving to make those same connections. Advantage Ag Air is a Grygla Merchant member, a sponsor of the GG Chargers Sports Posters and they were also honorary Lion members at the Grygla Lion’s Smelt Fry! Riley has also joined the Fourtown/Grygla Sportsman’s Club and hopes to become more involved in his new community, which he became a part of last winter.

At the end of this month, the business will be hosting a steak fry at the Holte farm. The get together for area growers will be a meet and greet that includes discussions about new rules and regulations, along with guest speakers who will provide information on fungicides/insecticides. Watch for more information in the newspaper on that!

But as for right now, “Call…stop in…most of the business was done at this kitchen table and that’s the way we want the legacy to continue,” the duo encouraged. They say that hometown friendly service is their ultimate goal…well, it’s safe to say they’ve already achieved it.

Advantage Ag Air can be reached at 218-686-2846 or 218-745-7607.