Altus Air Force Base News

 

Crop dusters to grace Altus skies soon

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The end of May marks the beginning of cotton season here in southwest Oklahoma. With the beginning of cotton season also comes an increased amount of crop dusting. Soon, yellow Air Tractor Model 502 aircraft will be swooping down and spraying local cotton fields from eight to 10 feet off the ground.

"We want people to see a spray plane and say 'that guy is out there helping farmers grow the best crops they can,'" said Brad Price, a local agricultural pilot.

Watching crop dusters dive down and spray fields eight to 10 feet off the ground is an exciting sight to see, but the pilots recommend that spectators keep a good distance between them and the field being sprayed.

"If you see a spray plane working, we don't mind if you watch but be aware of which direction the wind is blowing and stay upwind from the spray," said Mr. Price. "Give us a good buffer zone. If we are working around a power line, don't come park right underneath it. Things happen fast when we are flying that low."

At the beginning of cotton season, spray planes will be spraying insecticides to kill Thrips and Fleahoppers, which can damage cotton growth. They will also be spraying round-up herbicides to kill any weeds or grasses trying to grow around the cotton.

"We're providing a service for the agriculture community and we try to do the best we can," Mr. Price said.

As the cotton grows crop dusters will spray many different kinds of foliar feeds, which are fertilizers. Before the harvest, spray planes will spray plant growth regulators, which regulate the plant's growth and keep the cotton in its fruiting stage to help farmers have a more plentiful harvest.

"There is no set schedule to how often we spray. It all depends on bug pressure and the amount of plant growth regulators and foliar feeds requested by the growers," Mr. Price said.

Around the end of September through October crop dusters will begin defoliating the cotton. This is when the cotton is getting close to harvest. They will start to spray defoliant to help open up the cotton bolls.

Every chemical crop dusters use has been tested, approved and is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"This process is very thorough and thought through. It is a very highly-regulated industry," said Rick Netherton, King Agricultural Aviation Inc. crop consultant and manager.

Any time spray planes spray near Altus AFB they coordinate with base operations and the air traffic control tower.

"We call base ops and they contact the tower and they tell us if we are good to go or not. We have to specify the time period we are going to be in there, the aircraft number and color," Mr. Netherton said. "Sometimes they will specify or request us to only fly in a certain direction."

Jackson County produces an average of 900 pounds of cotton each year, yielding $58,375,000, which is more than any other agricultural product in the local area.