NAAA Executive Director Andrew Moore discussed his career and the work of NAAA recently on Through the Noise, a podcast aimed primarily at association executives. Available online, in the podcast section of iTunes, and on the Through the Noise app for Apple and Android devices, Through the Noise explores “the business of communicating” through conversations with executive directors, CEOs, communications directors, entrepreneurs and other professionals working in the association space. The podcast provided an excellent platform to educate other association professionals about NAAA and the agricultural aviation industry, but anyone who enjoys learning about leadership should find it of interest.

Moore has been NAAA’s executive director since 2002. He served as NAAA’s director of legislative and regulatory affairs before that, starting in 1997, and continues to serve as the agricultural aviation industry’s liaison to the federal government in Washington, D.C. Over the course of the nearly hour-long interview, Moore covered several topics with host Ernesto Gluecksmann, including how he got his start in Washington, his path to the National Agricultural Aviation Association, who NAAA represents and what aerial applicators do, the benefits of aerial application to farmers and the public, the importance of lobbying and grassroots advocacy, combatting “chemiphobia,” working as a legislative staffer alongside a young Paul Ryan, and more. Here are a few selected excerpts:

(27:28) Moore, on addressing public perceptions about the use of chemicals and combatting “chemiphobia”: “There’s so much to say on that subject, but you’re right, there is a ‘chemiphobia’ out there. In the early days of probably the use of crop protection products, some of the chemicals that were used weren’t studied like they are today and they weren’t applied like they’re applied today, and they’re actually not even available today because they’ve taken a number of those different products, a lot of organophosphates and carbonates, off the market. But the ones that do exist [today] have been heavily tested, because there’s a number of very important environmental statutes that the EPA uses, whether it’s the Clean Water Act or the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act that ensures the safety of crop protection products to your dietary safety, your drinking water safety, environmental safety, safety to workers and safety to endangered and threatened species. All that is tested before you register a product.”

“I think the doses that you’re seeing today, as well, are far less than they were. Just from a technology standpoint in our industry, we’re able to set up our aircraft application equipment in a way that really ensures that the product goes where it’s supposed to go.… All these technologies are available when they weren’t before. …

“We have seen a tremendous increase in regulation, but even more so in technology. The problem, Ernesto, is I took a long time explaining that, and it’s tough to have that amount of time to express all that detail. I think when people know all that detail—do you feel more comforted after I told you that? [Host: “Sure, yeah.”] So, it’s tough for us as a small association to get that word out. Everything’s soundbite-oriented, so it’s very difficult to get that communicated in the general media. That’s why we have to take media into our own hands in certain respects too. That’s why there’s social media—so you can get that word out.”

(33:00) Moore, on the environmental benefits of crop protection products: “The truth is by using and applying a judicious amount of these crop protection products, it can actually result in using less farmland because you’re harvesting more on the available farmland than if you didn’t use these products. It’s all about producing more yield, right? But by not using more farmland, that allows forests to be used for carbon sequestration. It allows more wetlands to be used for water filtering. It allows for more habitat for endangered and threatened species. So, there are environmental benefits to the judicious use of crop protection products.”

(46:20) Moore, on the need for lobbyists: “I find lobbyists to be highly important. Our members right now are helping farmers raise food, fiber and biofuel that’s affordable and abundant and healthy. They can’t come to Washington and lobby, but two of the biggest issues that we face—the farm bill and the FAA reauthorization—are coming up right now. They can’t come to Washington and lobby. They need somebody to coordinate this. And it’s part of the first amendment: freedom of speech. Somebody’s got to be there. I don’t care who you are … whether it’s the Farm Bureau—their farmers are out farming. They can’t bring farmers into town right now to do all this stuff. They gotta have their associations, and they gotta have their lobbyists to do that. It’s as simple as that. It just can’t be done. The government’s too big.”

(49:40) Moore, on the likelihood of staying on the job for another 10 years or more after being with NAAA for 21 years already: “I enjoy what I do. When you’re with an association for 21 years, you know, some of my best friends are my association members—officers I’ve worked for, the board members I’ve worked for, other members of the association. It would be tough. I can’t really see not working for them, because I like what I do. And what’s so very important to me, too, is agriculture. My family, as I mentioned, is four generations in farming, and I’m still tied to that.”