The crew of Lejeune Aerial Applications in Basile, Louisiana, led by company owner Robert Lejeune, recently educated key USDA and EPA officials on the professional techniques, experience and technology used to aerially apply pesticides and other crop inputs needed for rice production. The field day to Lejeune’s operation for these federal representatives was part of an educational trip led by USA Rice Federation—the global advocate for the U.S. rice industry from growing to milling the grain.
The tour started with Lejeune, along with his office crew member Jeanne Middlebrooks, showing the government representatives how map formation, label review and mixing instructions are developed once an order is placed for an aerial application.
Lejeune and ag pilot Shane Hudson then provided a tour of the pesticide storage area, the mixing equipment, the different types of application equipment from spreaders to nozzles, and the sophisticated disbursal equipment and avionics of the ag aircraft ensure a targeted and effective application.
Andrew Moore, NAAA’s CEO, also attended the tour and explained to EPA and USDA officials how the typical ag aviation fleet, such as the Lejeune operation’s Air Tractor 502 XP, has drop booms, more aerodynamic airframes, reduced boom length, GPS and precision application technology, etc. as the AgDRIFT Tier 3 drift model incorporates, providing justification for EPA to use that version of the model as their default drift calculation as opposed to the antiquated and unrealistic Tier 1 of the AgDRIFT model. Lejeune and Moore also mentioned how rice levees and ag aircraft equipped with smokers and integrated meteorological equipment serve as a vegetative buffer and air movement indicator to prevent applied pesticides from moving off target.
