| May 11, 2023 |
| Near Miss to Ag Airplane in Arkansas Highlights Lack of Knowledge and Safety of Certain Drone Operators |
| An ag aviator making an application south of Morrilton, Arkansas, had a
near miss with a drone on April 12, according to an Arkansas County
Sherriff’s Office and an FAA incident report that stated an AT-802 ag
aircraft had been making applications for a customer, who witnessed the
incident. At its closest point, the AT-802 had about 15 feet of horizontal
separation from the drone. Read More |
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| NAAA Launches LinkedIn Account |
 On the heels of the 2022 communications survey in which 76% of our
members stated that NAAA’s communications resources should primarily be
focused externally, NAAA has launched our new LinkedIn page, in addition to
our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Read More |
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| Has Your Aircraft Been Pattern Tested Yet? There Are Tools to Help |
 If you have not yet attended or scheduled an Operation S.A.F.E. Fly-In
for this season, the time is becoming short in many parts of the
country. If you are unable to attend one of these events, as an NAAA member, you have alternative options. Read More |
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| Ag Aviation Expo Sponsorships Available: Boost Your Company’s Brand! |
 Join us for the 2023 Ag Aviation Expo in Palm Springs Dec. 4-7.
Sponsorship sales are open for this year’s convention. Branding at
the Ag Aviation Expo is a great opportunity to get your message in front
of the agricultural aviation industry and reach a targeted and
nationwide audience of aerial applicators in North America.
Read More |
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| In Case You Missed It! |
| EPA Forced to Add More Redundancy to NPDES PGP in Order to Settle Lawsuit |
| In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reissued a five-year
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide
General Permit (PGP) for Point Source Discharges. Shortly afterward, the
EPA was sued by the Center for Biological Diversity for failing to
comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the PGP reissuance. To settle the lawsuit, the EPA is proposing to agree to a settlement that will impact the next reissuance of the PGP in 2026. Read More |
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| Packers Draft Air Kraft Spraying Offspring Tucker Kraft! |
The progeny of an aerial application family in South Dakota is one of
the newest members of the storied Green Bay Packers. The Packers drafted
Tucker Kraft, a tight end out of South Dakota State University, in the
third round of the 2023 NFL draft on April 28. The
Twitter image above captures the moment Tucker learned he was
being drafted by the four-time Super Bowl champions and 13-time league winners overall. Read More |
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| NAAA Mourns Loss of Pete Mann, First Fatality of 2023 |
 Pete Mann was fatally injured in an ag accident March 7. NAAA extends
our sympathies to his friends and family. He was 67 years old at the
time of his passing. Pete was born in Willows, California, Jan. 1, 1957. He started Mann & Sons Ag. Aviation in 1981
along with his parents and brother. He had a 42-year career as an ag
pilot.
Read More |
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| NAAA Best of NAMA National Award Finalist for 100th Anniversary Website |
NAAA is pleased to announce the association was a finalist in the
National Agri-Marketing Association’s Best of NAMA national awards for
the 100th aerial application anniversary website in its “Website
Directed to Consumers” category. While NAAA didn’t win the national
award, we are honored to have been a national finalist going up against
large marketing agencies and companies.
Read More |
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| GRASSROOTS ALERT: Let EPA Know New Changes to Application Exclusion Zone Rule Are Bad for Aerial Application and Agriculture; Comments Due May 12 |
The EPA is proposing yet another round of
changes to the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) rule. First conceived in
2015 as part of the revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS),
the EPA intended the AEZ to be a moving buffer zone around pesticide
application equipment to protect workers from either drift or direct
spray. When someone enters the AEZ, the applicator must cease the
application. Confusion and agricultural industry objections to several
parts of the rule have led to several iterations of the AEZ rule,
culminating in the current proposed changes. Read More |
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| NAAA Continues to Promote Drone Safety Measures on Drone Safety Day |
In recognition of Drone Safety Day on April 29, NAAA used its social
media channels to remind drone operators to be mindful of
low-altitude manned agricultural aviation operations and to always give
them the right of way. The social media messages also directed
readers to NAAA’s UAV safety tips news release for more information.
Read More |
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| Makeup PAASS Programs Now Available for 2021, 2022 and 2023 – Get C-PAASS Certified Today! |
 The impact of the PAASS Program on reducing the number of agricultural
aviation accidents and drift incidents is proven—26% reductions in both
categories since the program first hit the stage. In an effort to
present the program’s life-saving curriculum to those who may have
missed it, the National Agricultural Aviation Research and Education
Foundation (NAAREF) has leveraged the NAAA Education Center to host
recorded webinars of the PAASS Program from 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Read More |
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| New Children’s Book Illustrates the Importance of Agricultural Aviation |
 Children’s author Rebecca Victor has written a terrific new children’s book called Ellie the Crop Duster Saves the Farm!
The theme of the illustrated book is about the importance of aerial
application to crop protection and combating fires—as well as the
importance of farm animals.
Read More |
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| NAAA Ag Aviation Expo Hotel Room Block Open |
The NAAA hotel room block is now open for the 2023 Ag Aviation Expo in
Palm Springs, California, Dec. 4-7. The Ag Aviation Expo will provide
you with networking, education and fun in a great city full of
restaurants and bars, nightlife, shopping and attractions. It is important for attendees to stay in
the NAAA room block. We get the best hotel room rates for our attendees,
and if the NAAA hotel block is not filled, we cannot offer great rates
for future years! Read More |
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| It’s Here! Application Now Open for C-PAASS 2023—Certified-Professional Aerial Applicator Safety Steward |
 Aerial applicators, now more than ever, operate in an environment of
competing interests. An ever-increasing demand for timely and effective
applications is challenged by factors such as added regulatory burden,
rising insurance costs and stiffer pesticide label language, just to
name a few. The agricultural aviation industry is rising to these
challenges and, in character, has moved to advance education, rather
than regulation, as the path forward.
Read More |
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| Important Call for GPS Data to Protect Manned Ag Aircraft from Drones |
In 2022, an FAA advisory committee weighted with drone
interests from Amazon, Google and other unmanned corporate interests
suggested that the agency promulgate rules that drones operating beyond
visual line of sight be permitted to:
- Increase their weight to 1,320 pounds
- Not equip with ADS-B identification technology
- Not give the right of way to manned aircraft when operating in
rural, low-altitude airspace because they claimed there are no other
users of this airspace.
As an ag aviator, you know these requests to be patently unsafe and
based on false premises. As such, we call on you to help us collect
information on ag aircraft’s use of the low-altitude airspace. Read More |
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| NAAA Releases Book of the Century! Buy It Today |
 To commemorate agricultural
aviation’s 100th anniversary, NAAA is pleased to present Agriculture’s Air Force: 100 Years of Aerial Application. NAAA’s meticulously sourced book is based on a collective history of the industry based on material from Agricultural Aviation magazine, AgAir Update, Low & Slow and other resources. Agriculture’s Air Force is a true keepsake. Order your copy today!
Read More |
|
 reissued a five-year
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide
General Permit (PGP) for Point Source Discharges. Shortly afterward, the
EPA was sued by the Center for Biological Diversity for failing to
comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the PGP reissuance. To settle the lawsuit, the EPA is proposing to agree to a settlement that will impact the next reissuance of the PGP in 2026.){kind=small}
 rule. First conceived in
2015 as part of the revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS),
the EPA intended the AEZ to be a moving buffer zone around pesticide
application equipment to protect workers from either drift or direct
spray. When someone enters the AEZ, the applicator must cease the
application. Confusion and agricultural industry objections to several
parts of the rule have led to several iterations of the AEZ rule,
culminating in the current proposed changes.){kind=small}
 has leveraged the NAAA Education Center to host
recorded webinars of the PAASS Program from 2021, 2022 and 2023.){kind=small}
