| Geis brothers
develop own herbicide machines Improving industry tools is a way of life for Chad and Dallas Geis. Since 1999, the brothers have owned Arcadia, Louisiana-based Horizon Applicators, which helps forestry customers manage land throughout the Southeast. The pair has focused on using technology to improve their business, and that focus is paying off. The Geis' agricultural background and personal drive helped them gain a foothold in the forestry application business. After growing up on a family farm in Oklahoma, they both obtained agronomy degrees at Oklahoma State University. Dallas also has a master's degree in weed science from OSU. When the brothers moved into forestry applications, they realized much of what they had learned about technology in the crop business could also apply to forestry. "Our roots in agriculture gave us, to a certain extent, a crystal ball to look into the future of forestry," Chad Geis said. "We're constantly looking at how we can apply crop technologies to our work today. "If you want to stay in this business, you have to look for ways to improve. People sometimes wonder why we don't use the same equipment for more than a couple years. If we did that, we'd be out of business," Geis said. "This is not an industry that stays put. There are always new and better ways of doing things." Horizon "grew from the outside in," Geis said, noting that the company worked all over the South, from the Florida panhandle to eastern Texas, in its early years. But the brothers soon learned that a targeted effort could be just as successful and even more rewarding. Instead of growing out, Horizon grew in - expanding its Louisiana customer base - a move that allowed the brothers to stay closer to home and minimized the logistical headaches that came with transporting and maintaining equipment on the road. While Horizon still takes on projects across the southeast United States, it focuses more heavily on Louisiana-based business. The approach paid off. Horizon grew rapidly in each of its first three years. While forestry application is a core business, Chad and Dallas tinker with technology - building and selling customized forestry application equipment, computerized rate controllers, spray systems and global positioning systems (GPS). As true technophiles, Chad and Dallas freely admit that their success in the application business allows them to realize their true passion: building herbicide application equipment. "You can't go to the local John Deere(r) or Caterpillar(r) dealership and pick out a forestry herbicide application machine," Geis said. "They don't make it. Nobody does. So, we make it ourselves." As it turns out, not only does Horizon customize its own equipment, but it's found "a fair amount of business" building and selling equipment to others. Customizing equipment to maximize herbicide coverage is Horizon's strong suit. One of the company's more innovative pieces is a skidder with broadcast sprayers used for site preparation. "You don't see broadcast sprayers applying herbicide anywhere but in traditional agricultural settings," Geis said. "But in forestry management, coverage is everything. Broadcast sprayers allow us to really control herbicide droplets. The smaller the droplet size, the better the efficacy." Because broadcast sprayers are close to the ground, they are capable of delivering smaller droplets with less risk of drift than other types of sprayers. "Quality Vegetation Management(tm) is all about minimizing volume and impact and maximizing effectiveness," Geis said. "In forestry applications, we've found that tracts where we've used the broadcast sprayer are cleared and, so far, it's the best machine-based technique for site preparation." To ensure accuracy and efficacy, Horizon integrates computer-rate controllers and GPS on its equipment. This allows regulation of the amount of herbicide applied and ensures that targeted areas are covered. Relationships with third-party component suppliers, such as T-Jet and MidTech, have helped Horizon try different technologies to find what works best, and offer those products to forestry customers as a licensed distributor. "We often joke that we do application work so we can afford to build stuff," Geis said. "But I'm not sure we're kidding. If we can find a better way to manage vegetation through technology, that's what we want to do." Much of Horizon's work with industrial timber companies in Louisiana involves controlling yaupon, a tree with waxy leaves that competes with pine trees for water and nutrients. Using its customized herbicide application equipment, Horizon incorporates another type of technology - chemical technology - to target yaupon and other invasive hardwoods, such as sweetgum and oak, on company lands. "Chopper(r) herbicide is the most effective herbicide available for yaupon control," Geis said. "We use 48 to 64 ounces per acre with three to five quarts of methylated seed oil. We've tried several tank mixes over the years and nothing works better than Chopper." Yaupon can be hard to control because its small, waxy leaves are difficult for most herbicides to penetrate. Chopper can be mixed with methylated seed oil - which strips away the surface of yaupon leaves - allowing it to stay on the leaves long enough to penetrate the waxy surface. Geis said Chopper works well for both mid-rotation release and site preparation. "The oil allows Chopper to make its way into the plant," Geis said. "Once that happens, you don't have to worry about whether or not it will be successful. Chopper is the best all-around product for controlling understory vegetation." To see a short video about Horizon Applicators' custom-built herbicide application equipment, visit www.vmanswers.com/horizon Quality Vegetation Management is a trademark of BASF.
Chopper is a registered trademark of BASF. |