Aerial topdressing is the use of fixed-wing aircraft to
spread fertilizer onto farmland. It
first became commercially viable in New Zealand during the 1950s, and was
especially useful on hill-country farms (where using a spreader-truck was not safe)
although many others used it as well.
Topdressing planes were commonplace in my childhood
years. I can remember my father having
fertilizer, usually superphosphate, spread regularly over our home farm. He would go up in the plane with the pilot to
point out were the farm boundaries were and which paddocks he wanted fertilized,
and then leave him to it.
Today GPS is used for more accurate placement of the fertilizer,
meaning the majority of the product will land where it is required and other
areas can be avoided, such as buffer zones for waterways.
The last time I watched a topdressing plane in action was in 2007, near Te Awamutu in the Waikato. That is when these photos were taken.
Although our temperature today is reaching the late 20s
there is quite a strong wind blowing, which makes things feel a little cooler.
I did a double class at the pools again this morning –
aquacise and then aquazumba. We had a
different tutor than normal and she was much slower – easier to do, I thought,
but by the end I was feeling quite cold so obviously a faster pace is better.
 |
| Kakepuku Mountain, where the topdressing took place |
And so the first month of 2020 passes by. I guess it will be Christmas again before we
know it!
I have never seen a topdressing plane before. Amazing shots!
ReplyDeleteThe pilots are very skilled and it is quite amazing watching them in action.
DeleteGreat photos of the topdressing plane. The last one I saw was on a neighbouring property when we lived at the top of the country and there was a wind blowing so we received a lot of the "super".
ReplyDeleteLOL did the wind ever stop blowing up there? I never used to mind having a bit of super on my garden but always made sure I watered it all in before it burnt any plants.
DeleteI'm amazed that the fertilizer doesn't just blow away since the plane flies so high. But obviously it must work or they wouldn't do it.
ReplyDeleteGood for you doing the double exercise class again.
I know they try and calibrate the weight of the fertilizer granules with the height they fly at, but if there is a wind blowing a certain portion of it will blow away - on to the neighbours!
DeleteI remember the top dressing planes. I'm amazed it hasn't been banned. A lot of the stuff must go elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAqua Zumba sounds very energetic. Zumba is tiring out of the water. Good on you.
I read recently of a farmer accused of contaminating a river after topdressing, but the company involved were able to prove exactly where the fertilizer had fallen through using their GPS and mapping technology and it was nowhere near the river.
DeleteThe zumba is still energetic LOL but we set our own limits as to what we do, and being in the water also makes it much easier.
The amount of chemicals we pour onto the land and into the food we eat is staggering,
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, but do you think animals could still supply enough manure to grow our crops if we didn't use chemicals any more? It seems today that vegetarianism is becoming so popular that they want to do away with farm animals, yet still want to grow their crops. No meat, no animals, and lots of chemical fertilizers. I don't get it.
DeleteHere the farmers spread fertilizer with machinery on the fields. I guess the farms aren’t as big as they are in NZ.
ReplyDeleteFertilizer spreading with trucks is still widespread here, the planes being used now mostly for either convenience or because the farmland is too steep for trucks. I went in a spreader truck once, and it was extremely scary - up and down hills and valleys with no visibility as the fertilizer swirled around the truck and the driver had to remember where the lay of the land was. Once was enough for me!
DeleteWhat a great way to get nutrients to the soil! Around here in Indiana it would not be needed because the land is fairly flat, but I grew up in East Tennessee and there were hills there much to steep for tractors and trucks.
ReplyDeleteYes, January is over too quick to talk about! It is hard to believe we start a new month tomorrow.
I think the year is going to go by very fast. Not sure if that is a good thing or not!
DeleteA very creative way to spread fertilizer. I'm only familiar with crop dusters, but I guess it's the same idea.
ReplyDeleteI believe they are the same thing. It is just our different countries that give it different names.
DeleteWe don't see much of it here in Mangawhai but they do alot of this out Maungaturoto/Paparoa/Ruawai/Dargaville etc.
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed watching them, I think the pilots are so skilled in their job.
Delete