Brian Rau is a farmer and an aerial applicator with Medina Flying Service Inc.. He’s also President of the NAAA. Brian welcomed everyone to this record breaking convention and I spoke with him afterward.
Brian says he got interested in flying and aerial application because his dad flew combat missions and did aerial application for their farm. When he got out of college he wanted something more than “just farming” so he worked as an aerial applicator for a couple years before returning to the farm and starting his own flying business. He accepted the position of President of NAAA because he sees some challenges facing the business and those are primarily regulatory. He’s optimistic about the future because conventional agriculture, to which aerial application is very important, will play a key role in helping the environment while feeding the population that is expected to continue growing.
You can listen to my interview with Brian here: Brian Rau Interview
2010 NAAA Convention Photo Album
AgWired coverage of the NAAA Convention is sponsored by 
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“BASF and the NAAA are each devoted to sustaining and improving the field of agricultural aviation,” said Jim Gaffney, BASF Technical Market Manager. “This scholarship presents an opportunity for us to work together to help foster scenarios in which new pilots are provided with a foundation for success in the field of aerial application.”
After following along on AgWired last week you may have a better understanding of the 
Andrew has a farm background which fits in very nicely with the job of representing aerial applicators across the country in Washington, DC. He says they lobby on behalf of their members and represent them in front of key regulatory agencies like the EPA. Another big element of their member services focuses on training and safety. Andrew says they’ve seen a big increase in the number of acres that members have flown over based on FAA data that shows number of hours in the air. He says that since 2006 there’s been an almost 50 percent increase in that number!
What better thing to give away in your booth than a balsa wood glider, especially if you’re exhibiting at the Ag Aviators convention? That’s one of the items BASF had in their booth and they were very popular.
For some reason the 
The soon to be outgoing President of the NAAA is Bob Bailey, Bailey Flying Services. In this picture he’s being investigated by some blue men at the Association’s live auction last night.
I’ve been learning a lot here at the NAAA Convention. For example, I didn’t realize how big a role precision agriculture is playing in aerial application. I guess it makes sense though. If you can use gps and variable rate on the ground then why not from the air?
Aerial applicators learned about some new BASF products here at the NAAA Convention. They’ve been very happy to hear about them because Headline fungicide has really meant a lot to their business in the last 2 years.
The aviators attending the NAAA Convention got to hear some optimistic news today from Dr. Abner Womack, University of Missouri (pictured on right). He was here to talk about the results of the latest FAPRI outlook. 
He says that we’d be in trouble without that mandate too. In fact, he says that without it, “you’d be switching off the light at ethanol plants.” 
BASF Headline has been a boon for the agricultural aviation business and the fungicide was in the spotlight during technical sessions on the first day of the NAAA convention in Las Vegas on Monday.
Jim Gaffney is market manager for BASF aerial application strategy and he presented some results for low volume Headline application. “A couple years ago, BASF introduced two gallons per acre, down from five gallons, and we’re now looking at going less than two gallons,” said Gaffney. “What this does is allow aerial applicators to cover more acres with the same amount of fuel in the same amount of time.”
The opening breakfast for the National Agricultural Aviation Association convention this morning featured a compelling story of survival, rescue and personal success by accomplished military Strike Eagle pilot Brian Udell. He is pictured here next to his wife, along with NAAA president Bob Bailey and executive director Andrew Moore.