{"id":22187,"date":"2022-05-23T15:10:08","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T15:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=22187"},"modified":"2022-05-23T15:10:11","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T15:10:11","slug":"americas-aerial-applicators-are-on-call-and-ready-for-duty-to-fulfill-global-demand-for-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/americas-aerial-applicators-are-on-call-and-ready-for-duty-to-fulfill-global-demand-for-food\/%20","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s Aerial Applicators Are on Call and Ready for Duty to Fulfill Global Demand for Food"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

America\u2019s aerial applicators \u2014 or crop dusters as they are known in older jargon \u2014 are primed and ready to support farmers in need of fast, timely and effective applications this growing season. If they don\u2019t have an existing relationship with an aerial applicator, farmers in need of an aerial application service provider should search NAAA\u2019s \u201cFind an Aerial Applicator\u201d database at AgAviation.org\/findapplicator<\/a> to look for one in their area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After a productive 2021 spraying season, the National\nAgricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) expects demand for aerial application\nservices to be even greater this summer as farmers strive to protect their\ncrops from yield-robbing weeds, disease and insect pests in an effort to\nbolster the global food supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAAA conducted an industry survey toward the end of the 2021\nspraying season. It found that 4 out of 5 aerial applicators flew the same or\nmore hours and treated the same or more acres than they did in 2020, including\n57% that treated more acres and 54% that flew more hours than the year before.\nSeveral signs point to aerial applicators being even busier this summer.\nLeading pesticide manufacturers recently informed NAAA that they believe\nfungicide applications could be 20% higher than in 2021 when 55 million acres\nof plant health products were sprayed. Furthermore, even with tight supplies\nand higher input costs, farmers will be counting on aerial applicators to help\nthem maximize their crop output while commodity prices remain high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agricultural aviators treat 127 million acres of cropland in\nthe United States each year. That doesn\u2019t include the 7.9 million acres of\npasture and rangeland treated by agricultural aircraft annually. Aerial pest\ncontrol for managers of forests, waterways and public health also adds to these\nmany millions of acres \u2014 5.1 million acres of forestland and 5.2 million acres\nof mosquito and public health applications are treated annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When disease, weeds or insects threaten a crop or it needs\nnutrients or seeding, aerial application is the fastest and most economical way\nto aid farmers. It permits large areas to be treated rapidly, far faster than\nany other form of application. When wet soil conditions, rolling hills or dense\nvegetation prevent terrestrial equipment from treating an area, aerial\napplication is often the only or most economical method for timely pesticide\napplications. Additionally, aerial application is conducive to higher crop\nyields since it does not disrupt the crop or cause soil compaction, improving\nsoil health and the amount grown per acre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data from a Texas A&M University economics study\ncalculated that the aerial application industry\u2019s value to farmers, input\nsuppliers, processors and agricultural transportation and storage industries\nfor corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans and rice production alone in the U.S. is\nabout $37 billion annually. That figure is expected to grow substantially and\nin importance as food prices increase and food production becomes an issue of\ngrowing importance due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supply and demand\nissues, and a growing global population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith everything going on in the world, including food\nsupply issues, aerial application is going to be vital this year,\u201d NAAA CEO\nAndrew Moore said. \u201cBecause aerial applicators will be in such high demand,\nNAAA strongly advises farmers to schedule work with them in advance whenever\npossible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America\u2019s aerial applicators are ready to assist farmers with timely applications. NAAA\u2019s \u201cFind an Aerial Applicator\u201d database helps farmers find them. The search tool is especially handy for farmers that don\u2019t already have an existing service relationship with an aerial application operation. At AgAviation.org\/findapplicator<\/a>, users can conduct a radius search by city\/state or zip code for distances ranging from zero to 25 miles away up to 250 miles away. All aerial application companies in the database are members of the National Agricultural Aviation Association and must abide by NAAA\u2019s Member Code of Conduct<\/a> to operate in a manner that reflects the professionalism and ethical nature of the aerial application industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farmers, ranchers, foresters, agricultural co-ops and crop advisors are encouraged to visit AgAviation.org\/findapplicator<\/a> to find an aerial applicator near them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America\u2019s aerial applicators \u2014 or crop dusters as they are known in older jargon \u2014 are primed and ready to support farmers in need of fast, timely and effective applications this growing season. If they don\u2019t have an existing relationship with an aerial applicator, farmers in need of an aerial application service provider should search […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AT-602edit-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22188,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22187\/revisions\/22188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}