NAAA closed out March by continuing its visits with key stakeholders involved in the collection on use-data, registration and use of pesticides for crop safety and production. These visits were with Bayer CropScience, Kynectec and the National Corn Growers Association.

The Bayer meeting’s focus was to continue to work together to help facilitate the registration of pesticide products manufactured by the company for aerial use by using more realistic industry data—much of which NAAA collects about the ag aviation industry via its surveys—and more realistic aerial application variables within Tier 3 of the AgDRIFT atmospheric drift model, which more accurately reflects the application conditions of acres treated by air today. The discussion also included the aerial application industry’s constant embrace of new technologies and the development of a new software concept identified as site-specific risk assessment, which would allow environmental conditions at an application site (nearby waterbodies, endangered species, etc.), and the application equipment used (nozzle, boom width, pressure, etc.) to be inputted into the software. The software would then output either additional protections needed for the applicator to implement to protect a sensitive area, or perhaps grant leeway to the applicator, such as allowing a wider boom width, etc. Bayer CropScience has been a generous supporter of NAAA throughout the years, whether it be sponsoring our educational program, PAASS, and the annual Ag Aviation Expo’s general session.

NAAA also visited with crop protection data company Kynetec. Kynetec is an agricultural data company and collects pesticide data through farmer surveys that are used by pesticide manufactures for marketing and registrations purposes. Kynetec data is also used by the USDA and EPA for registration purposes. Kynetec conducts nearly 26,000 grower surveys a year. NAAA shared data with Kynetec on NAAA’s own industry surveys to establish how the results show the significant acreage of cropland treated by aerial application (127 million acres annually), and discussed ways to fine-tune the robustness of aerial application data.


NAAA also visited with Neil Casky, CEO of the National Corn Growers (more corn is treated by air in the U.S. than any other crop), and discussed the site-specific risk assessment software concept to help cropland better treat areas more efficiently in nearby endangered species locations.

Pictured at top, from right to left: Sabih Javed, Bayer CropScience North America Product Management Crop Protection Row Crops; Jay Vroom, DCLRS, former president and CEO of CropLife America; Damon Reabe, NAAA Government Relations chairman and board member, aerial application operator of Dairyland Aviation; John Chambers, Bayer CropScience Vice President, North American Market Development; Andrew Moore, NAAA CEO; Scott Bretthauer, NAAA director of policy, education and safety.