The farming industry relies on crop dusting planes each growing season to spray chemicals to keep their crops healthy.
Crop dusting planes spray fungicide that could save a farmer's crops, and they are staying busy.
"This summer has been probably the busiest year up to this date that I've had in 24, 25 years," said Farrel Helm, owner of Helm Flying Services.
Disease can be crippling to a farmer's fields and the airplane is the easiest way to get the fungicide on them.
"A lot of farmers don't like to go out and drive down their grain anymore at this stage, because where they drive it's done, it's ruined. So the airplane comes into play there and then we can get across a lot of acres real quick," Helm said.
The plane hovers just 10 feet above the crops and it's a real science to get the right coverage on the crops.
"Years ago the old saying was if you didn't come back with some of the crop on your landing gear you weren't low enough, but we're finding now days that they want us up a little higher, we do a better job it gives the pattern a little time to spread out before it settles down. If we get too low we can start streaking," Helm said.
Helm is able to stay so busy because the way the business is structured is changing. Now he deals with one agronomist that is working with farmers all over the region.
"Which makes it possible for me to move off 100 miles and start spraying because I'm just dealing with the one agronomist and he's dealing with the farmers," Helm said.
Crop dusting is an expense more and more farmers are budgeting for because it keeps them from being discounted come harvest time.
Story and video: http://www.kfyrtv.com
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