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 …
NAAA Executive Director Optimistic About Future
The National Agricultural Aviation Association is all about safety, education and common sense legislation. That’s a take away from my interview with NAAA Executive Director Andrew Moore. Andrew says that things are going well. He expects the 2010 season to be a good one in terms of total aerial application hours flown. The convention is a record in terms of …
Fire Boss 802F Flyby At NAAA Convention
The most exciting part of the first day of the NAAA convention is the flyby done just a few minutes ago. We’re on the Savannah River and attendees were treated to the sight of a Fire Boss 802F make repeated passes in front us, picking up water and then dropping it before pulling up and around before getting to the …
Air Force One Steward To The Presidents
At the NAAA convention welcome breakfast we got an inside look at what it’s like on Air Force One. Our speaker was Howie Franklin, 18 year steward of the President’s plane. He served under five Presidents and has hundreds of stories. I spoke with Howie after his presentation and got him to share one story that includes a situation he …
BASF NAAA Scholarships Announced
During the welcome breakfast at the NAAA convention the winners of the this year’s agricultural aviation scholarships were announced. The scholarships are part of the partnership that BASF has with the organization. Pictured are (l-r), Ben Cadenbach, Matthew Kollars, Dr. Gary Fellows, BASF and Brian Rau, NAAA President. I will have interviews with all of them for you during the …
National Agricultural Aviation Association Convention
It’s a beautiful day to fly in Savannah, GA. And we’ve got a lot of pilots here at the National Agricultural Aviation Association convention. They fly for a living so I’m pretty sure they like having some time off and doing a little relaxing and learning. They’re all getting registered at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. I’ve got …
On The Road To Agricultural Aviation
The next stop on the agriblogging highway is the 44th annual convention and trade show for the National Agricultural Aviation Association. This year it is being held in Savannah, GA. AgWired coverage of this year’s event is being sponsored by BASF. Coverage should begin by Monday morning. I don’t know how many will be tweeting but I’m recommending the hashtag …
American Ethanol Will Power NASCAR
NASCAR is in the middle of making an announcement of a “major long-term partnership with American Ethanol which is being led by Growth Energy. You can see a video that was just published below. I hope to have some audio from the announcement added after the official public announcement which is taking place in Las Vegas as of this posting. …
Ag Groups Unite for Estate Tax Reform
Ten diverse agricultural organizations are conducting a press conference right now in Washington DC to urge Congress to act on estate tax reform during the lame-duck session. Scott Bennett (pictured), Virginia Tech University student and active participant in his family’s livestock operation, did a really nice job speaking on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association – noting that he …
Challenges For Dairy Farmers
Next up from the recent NAFB convention Trade Talk session is the Dairy Farmers of America. I spoke with Jackie Klippenstein, VP, Industry and Legislative Affairs. Jackie says that priorities for DFA include making sure new legislators are familiar with the needs of dairy farmers. She says the industry lost some long time supporters in the recent election. Looking ahead …