Got to see an Ag Helicopter for the first time! Super cool to watch.
Posted by grimy-steelo@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 38 comments
Posted by grimy-steelo@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 38 comments
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
Why spraying chemicals on food in the first place?
niklaswik@reddit
Ask some of the millions upon millions of people who would otherwise starve the last few decades... You may not like "factory farming" (I'm not a fan of it when it comes to animals/meat) but it is hard to dispute the fact that it has managed to feed an amazing amount of people.
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
It is not hard to dispute at all. Regenerative farming gets better yields than factory farming--that is a fact that the Ag industry will never acknowledge. Pesticides and fertilizers destroy the topsoil on the land, making a farm a monoculture which kills off all of the life in the soil that is critical for growth. Regenerative farming is less expensive, gets better yields and builds topsoil and improves the soil biome instead of depleting it.
The only reason we have factory farming in the US is the chemical companies convinced farmers that they needed to kill off everything in their fields that wasn't the crop they were growing, and to never have a cover crop in the off season.
This isn't just crunchy tree hugger stuff--it is science.
West-Organization450@reddit
I think some of the discourse about ‘regenerative farming’ stems from the fact that so many of the ideas and techniques it puts forward are the same cultural practices that so many farmers have been employing for decades. Adding words like ‘holistic’ or ‘equitable’ in front of ‘no-till, cover crop, rotation, soil health, habitat, and manure’ doesn’t make them revolutionary new ideas. Much of what you say doesn’t align with what I’ve seen and experienced in US agriculture.
GreatPlainsFarmer@reddit
And yet it seems that even the proponents of regen agriculture can’t define it.
The only widely accepted examples are various AMP grazing methods, which are great, but do not produce more human edible calories per acre than current common crops.
I consider myself a regenerative farmer, in that I’m improving my soil health and resilience, but you wouldn’t consider me such.
You are more concerned with methods than with results, and no set of methods applies across diverse agricultural areas.
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
Why would you say I wouldn't consider you such? To me,a regenerative farmer is somebody that improves the soil health on the land they work instead of stripping it of its resilience.
GreatPlainsFarmer@reddit
I use fertilizers and pesticides in my fields. I use the pesticides so that I don't have to use tillage. I leave the crop residues on the soil surface to protect from erosion and to conserve moisture. They also feed the soil biology. In most of my fields, the earthworms/nightcrawlers will consume nearly all the old crop residue before it's time to harvest the new crop. Tillage would hurt them far more than the herbicides.
https://www.reddit.com/r/farming/comments/1swtxhl/40_year_old_rig_still_doing_the_job/
https://www.quora.com/Are-earthworms-in-decline-from-all-the-chemicals-we-use-Are-there-more-worms-in-fields-that-have-been-fallow-for-a-long-time-What-is-healthy-number-of-worms-in-an-acre-of-good-soil-Does-farm-land-being-used-for/answer/Paul-Anderson-126
ViperThreat@reddit
bug deterrent.
Hogchief@reddit
Those are the treetops in my backyard. He's spraying the cranberry bogs around my house. At one point he was so close the morning dew came off the trees and hit me.
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
Does it concern you at all to have a helicopter spraying unknown and likely untested chemicals into the water table around your house?
West-Organization450@reddit
What chemicals might they be applying that are ‘likely untested’?
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
Pick one...glyphosphates, glufosinates, any herbicide fungicide or pesticide. Not a single one of these has undergone actual FDA testing for effects on human beings. Almost every chemical that is sprayed on a field has undergone testing at the manufacturer only for its effectiveness, not for its hazards to humans or animals.
West-Organization450@reddit
From my perspective much of the debate comes down to who you trust…much like the medical industry. If you say ‘not a damn one of em!’ I totally get that! To my knowledge the EPA is responsible for product registration…which in the past was about a 10-year process. The FDA is then responsible for monitoring our food supply based on EPA recommendations. There is also extensive university research around the globe with an enormous amount of information. Part of the problem these days is so many scientists are reliant on someone for funding their testing and research that results get murky. That brings back the ‘who should I trust?’ angle. Much of the impetus for Glyphosate litigation came from an IARC finding that it was ‘probably carcinogenic’. IARC advisor Christopher Portier was purported to have signed a 6-figure contract with a law firm suing glyphosate manufacturers shortly after his ‘findings’. So do I trust the IARC? For me it’s a no. On the other hand I completely understand if you believe differently…we can all have our opinions. I will admit that I do get a little discouraged when anytime I see anything Ag aviation related in an Aviation or Flying section that much of the discussion has to devolve into the non-flying related aspects.
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
Hell, even Roundup is a known carcinogen and is still sold as an herbicide.
Hogchief@reddit
Not any more than the amount of fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides are used on people's lawns with zero regulation. In Massachusetts our EPA rules are more strict than the federal laws. Also, this stuff is expensive. A farmer is only going to add what's necessary to keep their crop healthy.
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
I have the same issue with people using this shit on their lawns and gardens too. Farms are by far the worse offenders though. I'm in Maine and seeing what pesticides, weed killers and fertilizer have done to our waterways and human health is heartbreaking.
Also not true about farmers adding what is needed to keep crop healthy. That line is a scam perpetrated by chemical companies who are the ones who started this mess to begin with. Take a look at most farms in the offseason--topsoil stripped bare, nothing growing to keep soil from flowing away. Monocrops and corporate farms are the problem here. Take a look at the soil from a corporate farm versus a regenerative no till farm--I have and thee difference is stark---one is dead--nothing living in there but soaked with chemicals, and the other has tons of life--that is what makes plants healthy....not fertilizers and pesticides. Yields tend to be better with regenerative techniques as well. The reason they spray so much shit is the chemical companies tell them to, and this type of farming gets government subsidies.
Good documentary to check out is Common Ground.
rtillman489@reddit
Spraying all that cancer poison on our food. Nice 👍🏼
GaussMommy@reddit
I used to watch these all the time from my old Beakroom!
wt1j@reddit
An R44 doing this is a very bad idea.
thetiredtypist@reddit
Why?
wt1j@reddit
Deadliest chopper in the world. Google it
s0ul_invictus@reddit
CHOPDUSTER
grimy-steelo@reddit (OP)
That’s pretty good! Lol
ITakeMassiveDumps@reddit
What advantages does this have compared to using ordinary crop dusters? Just by judging this video, it doesn’t seem to be the most stable platform. I’m sure it must have some pros though.
grimy-steelo@reddit (OP)
From what I could tell in this scenario, these were smaller fields accompanied by power lines. So this guy not only was able get in there easier, but also his turn around radius time compared to something like an Air Tractor is sliced in half! We do have some Air Tractors in the area doing the larger fields though!
Capable-Broccoli2179@reddit
You know what would be super cool to watch is responsible farming.
thetiredtypist@reddit
Plenty of subreddits of people doing their own farming. Grab a shovel and show us how it's done.
mcshabs@reddit
They mosquito spraying by helicopter on creek by us, always freaky when you see them swooping in
lordnacho666@reddit
Might also be the last time? This looks like the kind of thing a drone would be good at.
justec1@reddit
I know someone doing drone spraying. It's better for smaller areas where a plane wouldn't get good coverage or there are structures. He put it in the trees a few times before figuring it out. It can't carry much fluids, so you wouldn't use it on a typical US 160 acre (64 ha) "quarter section" farm.
I wonder if those heli sprayers are as safe and considerate as their fixed wing friends.
seattle747@reddit
I wonder the same. I’m just a non-ag CPL, so what do I know.
I imagine planes are faster on larger farms, tho. An ag pilot took me on a simulated spray and, wow, that was exhilarating. Not for the faint of heart.
justec1@reddit
Yeah, the ag guys are an interesting bunch. Knew one well that flew from a strip on his farm. Locals called it "Steve International". I know of at least 3 times he ditched his sprayer and heard of more. Put it back together with a MIG welder and speed tape. He would strafe vehicles on the state highway between fuel runs. He wasn't a hard case, just a little off-kilter.
The stories of his exploits are common at the Co-op. He somehow survived into retirement and passed a few years ago of a medical condition.
The new guys are supposed to follow regs as to how they make turns, but they still do the swoop and stall method to save time. It's fairly common to hear of fatalities or one getting hung up on power lines.
West-Organization450@reddit
We don’t have any ‘swoop and stall method’. Anyone who does that only does it once. I probably average around 70-80 turns per hour of flying so ya get pretty good at doing it efficiently but if you don’t learn to do it safely you don’t last long.
crewsctrl@reddit
Looks like the rotor downwash is pretty effective at pushing the product down onto the field.
Thermobyte@reddit
Already is to an extent. https://ag.dji.com/
Malcolm2theRescue@reddit
A lot of Ag flying has been replaced with drones. They don’t sue for millions when they hit the wires. Likewise with pipeline patrolling. If drones start towing banners, there will be zero time building jobs outside of instructing.
DadKnightBegins@reddit
Mmmmmmmmmm….flavor additives! - Homer Simpson
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