Crop dusting has its ups and downs

Crop dusting is a business full of hazards, regulations and, for Mark Minkema, owner and head pilot at Twin Cities Aviation LLC, it's also a life doing what he loves.

Twin Cities Aviation, which flies out of the Sutter County Airport, is a family business that Mark runs with his wife, Rose; his two sons, Nicholas and Kyle, who are the company's ground crew; and the sons' girlfriends, Maribel Curiel and Amanda Lansdon.

In business for nine years, Mark Minkema bought the company from Debbie Patterson, the widow of Rick Patterson, who died in an aviation accident in June 2000. Minkema said that Rick had started the business in 1996.

One of only a handful of crop dusters in the area, 99 percent of their work is within 30 miles of Yuba City, Minkema said. "We go south to Sacramento and north to Butte County. The reason we go to Sacramento is because there's still some farming in north Natomas. We can't use an airplane there to spray, so we take the helicopter down there."

Crop dusting isn't something a person just walks into, Minkema explained. Just to be qualified to fly a crop dusting aircraft — fixed-wing or helicopter — a pilot must have a commercial pilot's license. He said that, to qualify, a pilot has to have a minimum of 250 hours of flight time comprising an investment of at least $30,000.

He said one additional thing is very important: "You need someone to take you under their wing and show you the business."

Once the flying requirements are met, the crop duster must also have the necessary government qualifications to spray pesticides.

"There's 20 hours of continuing education required every two years to maintain a California aircraft pilot's pest control certificate," Minkema explained. And since Twin Cities Aviation also operates in Wyoming and Oregon, Minkema has to meet each of those states' requirements as well.

But before a pilot can be a crop duster, he has to start as an apprentice working under a journeyman pilot for 250 hours of pest control application, then he tests for journeyman status, a procedure that takes about a year.

Minkema, a Rhode Island native, came to Yuba City by way of Stockton, where he started crop dusting about 22 years ago. When asked why he's a crop duster, he answered: "I don't know. I wanted to fly for a living and I thought I'd try this."

While the business has its ups and downs (no pun intended), it's been able to avoid most of the national recession.

"The farming community isn't being affected by the economy, although the spraying of noxious weeds has been affected because the government's cost share has been cut back. Most of this is done in other states, not in California," Minkema said.

"We're doing well. The economy hasn't affected the work, although fuel prices and insurance keep going up — but we adjust for that," he said.

What is going well for them is that the price of rice is up and has been for the last two years. "The number of acres in rice production right now is the highest it's been in years," Minkema said. "So the farmers haven't been reluctant to spend money on the rice."

That's important to Twin Cities Aviation because about 75 percent of their work is rice work, he said. That translates into a lot of flying during rice season.

"We plant rice with the airplane. We plant upwards of 8,000 acres of rice per year. The seed is flown on, and the fertilizer is flown on, along with the dry herbicide," Minkema said.

"During rice season, the aircraft are flying 10 to 14 hours a day," said Kyle, Mark Minkema's son. "From mid-April through late June, we're working seven days a week."

That means not only a lot of time in the air, but also a lot of effort keeping the company's three aircraft — two Hiller 12E Soloy helicopters and a Grumman Ag-Cat biplane — safely flying.

"Maintenance is a big issue, especially with the helicopters. They have so many moving parts that they require a lot of maintenance," Mark said.

The amount of crop dusting is down overall. Mark said he used to fly about a 1,000 hours a year; now it's down to about 500 hours.

"We're here year-round. December and January are very, very slow — basically zero work during those two months. In February, we start spraying orchards with dormant spray. Then, when they start blooming, we start spraying the blooms. Then it turns into April and we get going on the rice. Then through the summer and into September, we work on the rice, row crops and vegetables. In October, there's not much to do. In November, we plant a little bit of wheat," Mark said.

He added, "There's a fair amount of wheat grown around here, but not like it used to be. Years ago, they'd plant all the hills on both sides of the valley with winter wheat."

Another factor that's cut down on flight time is improved chemicals and changing regulations. Chemicals are better than they were 20 years ago, so they don't have to be applied as often; and the use of bigger aircraft allows the pilots to fly with heavier loads, Nicholas said. "And lots of the herbicides that are used on rice can no longer be applied by air so it can't affect neighboring crops."

Working with the farmers means having a long-term relationship, Mark said. "Most farmers have a crop duster that they use; but when it comes to helicopter-specific work, they generally call us because we have the only helicopter within 25 miles of Yuba City."

"For the rice, they'll call up and tell us what field and what the application rate and fertilizer is. They'll coordinate with the trucker to deliver the load, making sure it's at the right end of the airstrip for us."

All the local operators are relatively competitive, and each one's charge per acre is about the same, Mark said.

He explained that Twin Cities Aviation needs to gross about $800 per hour for the biplane, $1,000 per hour for the helicopters, plus another $200 per hour for the pilot, for the business to be profitable.

Cost is not a minor factor for the crop duster. Even though the farmer almost always furnishes all the materials, it's up to the crop duster to keep his equipment flying.

Mark stated that it is less expensive to fly the biplane, saying. "Airplane work has a higher net than helicopter work does because an airplane isn't as much of a maintenance nightmare."

But a helicopter can do things that a plane can't.

The business uses helicopters for herbicide spraying where it's very important not to spray in an inappropriate area. Kyle said, "Helicopter spraying doesn't drift as much. It does a better job of containing the material to the field."

"It's not that airplanes do a bad job — it's just that helicopters do a better job. However, airplanes can cover more area because the helicopters fly slower and carry less," said Mark.

"The helicopter does more specific work than the airplane," the owner explained, citing the use of helicopters for orchard work. "Its rotor wash tends to push the spray down, more so than the airplane."

Changes in the industry are inevitable, Mark said — some good, some not so good.

One positive technology shift has been the use of GPS to more accurately lay down the chemicals or seed. "Using GPS guidance for parallel swathing has allowed us to stop using flaggers like we did 15, 20 years ago," said Mark.

Kyle explained: "The flaggers would stand at each end of the field ... and after the plane made its pass, they'd walk a certain number of steps, and the plane would use them as reference points. Now GPS does it for us."

Other changes include the switch from gasoline-powered engines to all-turbine equipment because they're more reliable and jet fuel is cheaper.

One trend that disturbs Mark is the age of crop duster pilots. "The average crop duster pilot is probably 45 to 50 years old. There aren't many young guys coming into the business. And I don't know why," he said.

The elder Minkema said this is a problem because "the industry is not going to go away even though there is a little bit less everyday."

But Minkema's not ready to turn in his flying helmet. "I like flying helicopters because they're challenging, and I'd like to grow the business," he said.

He explained that if he could, he'd like to add two larger airplanes and another helicopter to be able to take on bigger jobs.

"There's a lot of work a guy can do with larger airplanes. Things like hydromulch where they spray a slurry-type mulch with grass seed in it on burned land to avoid erosion. With a larger airplane we could do that kind of work," he said.

Contact Appeal reporter John Hollis at 741-2400 or jhollis@appealdemocrat.com