The Backstory

I was born into a family of crop dusters. My grandfather started his business over 50 years ago, and still performs aerial applications today. Two of his three sons returned home to join the business as pilots, and last year I made my debut as the representative for third generation — doing field work, not flying.

I have been around agricultural aviation for 22 years now, and the excitement and adrenaline of watching those yellow planes dip under power lines and fly just ten feet above a crop still hits me with full impact every summer. The speed, the precision, and the accuracy is mind boggling, even nine years into the trade.

You see, this was my first job. I started at thirteen, washing airplanes and observation vehicles every day in the summer to earn a little spending money. I eventually left and got a degree in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, returning home on summer break to chase planes and earn next years’ tuition. When it came time to graduate, I had no idea where to leap in terms of a career. It was with open arms and one heck of a job opportunity that I walked off the graduation stage and into a sweet corn field, signing on to the family’s trade.

I also fell in love with a farmer, born and raised here and just as tied to the soil as I am to the air. We recently became engaged and bought a farm, and are beginning a life together. He’ll plant and raise the crop, I will protect them from pests, and together we will bring in the harvest of a healthy crop.

This blog will be a diary of sorts, full of stories from both my farm at home and the airshow I watch daily at work. I hope to convey a unique and rare perspective about farming, flying, pesticides and crop production, faith and determination, love and growth. If you’re joining me for the ride- hold on. This life flies by about like an air tractor — that is to say, it dives and dips and turns and rolls, and is a roller coaster from start to finish!

I appreciate you being here, and I hope you find as much excitement and wonder as I do in this agricultural world you’re diving into. Oh, and if you’re curious, don’t hesitate to ask! I promise I’ll do my best to explain this world to you, and to teach you all I can about Flying, Farming, and Faith, and the ways in which they intertwine.