Longtime Friend

I've just returned from a very quick overnight trip to Fargo, North Dakota. Oddly enough, I was there only a couple of weeks ago attending the hugely successful Tri-States convention (400+ attendees and 55-60 exhibitors). But, this trip was different. It was to honor a longtime friend of mine, Ron Deck of Sky Tractor Supply in Hillsboro. Ron was inducted into the 2010 Upper Midwest Symposium Hall of Fame for his lifelong aviation achievements.

Most of us know Ron through his family-run company, Sky Tractor. I met Ron on the tradeshow circuit about 25 years ago. I don't remember the exact event, but it was about the time he was serving as president of NAAA. We traveled together on several occasions in his infamous blue/white and red/white vans (he now has a very nice 40' motorhome for tradeshow-traveling) mostly in Canada, North Dakota and Minnesota, with Ron taking me under his wing and introducing me to operators in these locales.

The Hall of Fame induction focused on Ron's achievements in business and family over the last 40+ years. I sat at the banquet table and thought of all the kindness, honesty and insight Ron had relayed to me. On more than one occasion, we would discuss intricate details of politics, religion and crop dusting. His knowledge was and is vast.

So, in closing, I congratulate Ron Deck on a job well done and very deserving of his North Dakota Hall of Fame recognition. Take care, my friend.

Mother Nature is in control

It is saddening to see on our televisions all of the destruction in Chile and of course, Haiti. I know the news media always photographs the worse possible disaster scenes, but it is obvious our Chilean and Haitian friends are suffering. I made contact with several Chilean operators (I know of none in Haiti) who did not have any serious problems from the earthquake. However, I have not had a response from several others and I wonder about their safety. It is a natural disaster.  

Another natural disaster is taking place in the Entre Rios and La Pampa provinces of Argentina. The country is world-known for its abundance of doves. Hunters from around the world travel to Argentina to experience shooting the multitudes of these birds. However, now the doves have been pronounced a plague in these provinces because there are so many creating many problems. It has been reported that in La Pampa the average number of doves per hectare is 16,000! Farmers hesitate to plant sunflowers in fear the birds will devastate their crops. Other crops like soybeans and corn will have to be planted. For some ag-operators in Entre Rios and La Pampa, this will change the way they have been doing business. This too, is a natural disaster.  

Ag-operators around the world have always had to adjust to natural disasters that most commonly are flooding and droughts. For the ag-operator, even when a pest does not appear, it is a natural disaster. Of course, the farmer likes it when there are no pests! 

Mother Nature plays a very big role in how ag-operators conduct business. It has always been like this and there is no reason to expect it to change. Irrigation helps in some places to offset the impact of a drought. New and better chemicals give the ag-operator the right “tool” to do a better job and help to alleviate the potential for a disaster, like the Asian rust in soybeans. 

As ag-operators, we try our best to have safe and good equipment. We try to be prepared to respond when our customers need us. Then, we try to do the very best job we can in a safe and efficient manner. But, no matter how much we prepare, we cannot outsmart Mother Nature. We have to learn to live within her demands and do the best we can with whatever it is that she gives us. 

Sometimes I hear pilots and farmers complain that they are not getting enough rain, or they are getting too much rain, or it is windy every day and we can’t spray. My reply to these complaints is always, “We get what we need.” A power much greater than anything man can imagine is at the controls. In the bigger picture, we are getting exactly the right amount of Mother Nature. It just may not seem like it today. 

Until next time, Blue Sky and Tailwinds...