More than dusting crops

July is often when most people take time off for vacations and summer relaxation. But for aerial applicators, it’s the busiest time of the year.

Colleen Hogan and her husband, Kevin Marshall, run AgriFlite West, an aerial application business based out of 49W303 Jericho Road in Big Rock. Hogan said they complete about 80 percent of their business in three weeks, starting the beginning of July.

“It depends on the year and the season, but we can spray anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 acres of crops a year,” Hogan said. “My husband is a farmer and a pilot, so he combines those skills."

Aerial application, commonly known as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with protection products, such as insecticide and fungicide, from an aircraft. Aerial applicator businesses also can be contracted to distribute fertilizer or cover crop seeds, such as radishes and oats.

Hendrickson Flying Service, 21532 Quitno Road in Rochelle, has treated about 140,000 acres since the beginning of July.

“Because of the weather in spring, almost all of the farmers planted about the same time,” said Cameron Hendrickson, pilot and operations manager of Hendrickson Flying Service. “That’s been keeping us really busy. We cover a large amount of area, up to the Wisconsin border, the Chicago suburbs, north of Bloomington and as far west as Freeport.”

Hogan said this year’s corn has been sprayed primarily for fungus, and soybeans are now starting to be treated for Japanese beetles.

“We use airplanes instead of farm machinery because often the crop is too tall, and farmers don’t want to drive through and ruin their crop,” Hogan said. “There are other aerial applicators in the area, including in Mendota and Rochelle. We all share the area, there’s really no rivalry. There’s a lot of crops to cover in a short period of time.”

To schedule an aerial application, agricultural retailers such as CHS Elburn Co-op, Conserv FS, AG Tech Services and Helena, or farmers contact an aerial application business.

“The choice of spraying is primarily about yields,” Hogan said. “Farmers have to make a decision about gains. Insects and plant diseases can destroy that potential. It’s all about keeping the crop healthy.”

According to the National Agricultural Aviation Association, aerial application is the fastest form of application, allowing large and often remote areas to be treated rapidly. NAAA states that spraying to protect the crop results in greater harvest yields.

“The reason we spray is to protect the crop, either from insects with insecticide or from plant disease and fungus with fungicide,” Hendrickson said. “We want to boost yield potential. I don’t think most people know that the chemicals are mixed with water and a surfactant to spread the product so that it sticks to the crop and is evenly distributed.”

Crops are sprayed at an early stage of their growth, before soybeans flower and during corn pollination. Spraying occurs directly onto the plants’ leaf canopy. For accuracy, crops are not sprayed when it rains or if the wind speed is more than 10 mph.

Hogan said that when she was first learning about aerial applications, what was surprising to her was the amount of chemical used per acre of crop.

“We spray about two gallons per acre, but only about 8 to 10 ounces of that is product,” Hogan said. “The rest is water. That means that only about as much chemical as a small milk carton at school is used per acre. People use stronger chemicals, like bleach and tobacco, every day at home.”

Jacob Smith, general manager of Hendrickson Flying Service, said he is concerned that many people have misconceptions about aerial application.

“I don’t think most people know what we do, we’ve progressed so much further than just crop dusting,” Smiths said. “With GPS capability and hardware and software, we are accurate to the foot. We are very cautious about people around. We are always conscientious of organic crops and bees, and we are heavily regulated by the government. We use contained and closed systems; we use the recommended label rates and do not over or under apply.”

Pete Henze, crop specialist and salesman with AG Tech Services in Sandwich, said that spraying only occurs “if we absolutely have to.”

“We’ll look at the fields and corn variety, decide if spraying is the right thing to do and then determine the proper time to spray,” Henze said. “Our main goal is to keep the leaves of the plant healthy so nothing inhibits photosynthesis. It’s like medicine for the plant.”