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NAAA Now Offering Healthcare Options to NAAA Members

Rising health insurance premiums have become a significant concern for both individuals and employers across the country. NAAA works continuously to identify opportunities that enhance the benefits available to our members. Over the past few years, we’ve received requests for access to more affordable, quality health and life insurance plans than what the aerial application operators and ag pilots in our industry may currently have access to.

We are excited to announce that NAAA has worked with a large insurance broker to offer insurance options to NAAA members. Whether you’re looking for health insurance for yourself and/or your employees, we’ve got you covered. The NAAA Benefits Center program provides comprehensive plans for both individuals and employers, regardless of group size, with guaranteed coverage for all participants. 

This program guarantees coverage for all participants, with no health questions asked, resulting in no exclusion for pre-existing conditions. The NAAA Benefits Center offers financial and medical stability, ensuring peace of mind for those seeking reliable and affordable health insurance. 

Do you have pre-existing conditions? NAAA Benefits Center has you covered with CoreChoice health plans featuring the Anthem Blue Card PPO network. These guaranteed issue plans require no health questions, providing access to one of the largest nationwide networks of doctors and specialists. With seven plans to choose from and rates that have only increased once in six years, there’s a solution for everyone—from individuals to businesses with W2 employees.

Now is the time to consider your health benefits renewal! Take control of your healthcare expenses today and learn more at NAAA Benefits Center. You may also access the NAAA Health Care plan from the membership tab at AgAviation.org and then clicking Health Insurance Benefits.

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EPA’s Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) Rule Finalized – Includes Areas Off of Agricultural Establishments

Last week the EPA announced that they have finalized the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) rule. The AEZ was first introduced in 2015 as part of the Worker Protection Standards (WPS) revisions. The intent of the AEZ was to provide protection to anyone, whether they are pesticide workers or bystanders, who are close to a pesticide application. The AEZ is a circular area around the sprayer that moves with the sprayer. If someone enters the AEZ, then the pesticide applicator is required to stop the application.

After the AEZ was first proposed, EPA heard from NAAA and numerous other agricultural groups about concerns with the AEZ. First and foremost was the fact it’s a burdensome and duplicative rule. Pesticide labels already prohibit drift onto people – adding another rule with more restrictions covering something that’s already illegal really offers no stronger protection. Another major concern was that the AEZ extended to areas outside of an agricultural establishment. This could have the effective of preventing applications to be made along field borders adjacent to public property or land owned by someone else if the person(s) occupying those areas refused to move.

After listening to the concerns of the ag community, the EPA revised the rule in 2020. The revision limited the AEZ to only include areas within an agricultural establishment. This meant that if someone on a public road or other property refused to move, the application could continue once the applicator evaluated the situation and determined it was safe to resume, with the assumption that the label requirements to not drift on any person(s) would protect the bystander. However, a lawsuit resulted in EPA suspending and then abandoning the 2020 revisions. The final 2024 rule reverts to the AEZ as originally established in 2015.

The final 2024 rule includes the following provisions:

  • When any person(s) enters the AEZ, the pesticide applicator must immediately suspend the application.
  • The AEZ extends beyond the boundaries of the agricultural establishment – it doesn’t matter whose property the person(s) is on, the application must be suspended
  • The AEZ also includes all easements on the establishment (for example, easements for utility workers to access telephone lines).
  • The AEZ distance for aerial applications is 100 feet regardless of droplet size or wind direction.
  • Farm owners and immediate family members are exempt provided they are within an enclosed building during the application
  • The application cannot be resumed until the person(s) has left the AEZ.

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Extra Extra!! Fall 2024 Issue of Agricultural Aviation Now Online!

The Fall 2024 issue of Agricultural Aviation is available online and in the Agricultural Aviation Magazine App. Stories include details on the upcoming Ag Aviation Expo, aerial firefighting, mosquito abatement and the use of drones in aerial application, as well as an overview of the 2024-2025 PAASS Program.

Featured content in the Fall 2024 issue includes:

Back issues are available in Agricultural Aviation’s Issue Library.

Get the free Agricultural Aviation App

If you haven’t installed the free Agricultural Aviation Magazine App on your smartphone or tablet, you are missing out on a great way to tap into a library’s worth of Agricultural Aviation issues in the palm of your hand. Download the Agricultural Aviation Magazine App and see how easy it is to use. The app is compatible with all Apple, Google and Amazon mobile devices and can be downloaded from their respective app stores by searching “Agricultural Aviation Magazine.” Enable push notifications to be alerted when new digital editions are published and to receive occasional notifications about pertinent articles.

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NAAA & NAAREF Board Meetings Taking Place in Chattanooga

The October 2024 NAAA and NAAREF Board and Committee meetings have kicked off in Chattanooga, Tennessee and PAASS Train the Trainer concludes today. Click here to view a schedule.

Please note: Board and committee members should have already received a link and directions to download the electronic board book. If you have not received instructions, please contact Lindsay Barber for more details. The board book can be downloaded to your computer, tablet or you can print your committee items.

Hotel & Meeting Location Details

DoubleTree Hotel Chattanooga
407 Chestnut Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Hotel Phone: (423) 756-5150

Chattanooga, TN Information: Further information on Chattanooga can be found online at https://www.visitchattanooga.com/.

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Pre-Register for the Ag Aviation Expo to Avoid Long Lines Onsite

We urge you to pre-register before Oct. 18 for the 2024 Ag Aviation Expo, which saves you $75 per person. Pre-registration helps us to have accurate food, beverage and seating counts at our events. In addition to attendee registration, there are still booth sales available for the NAAA Expo in Fort Worth, Nov. 18-21! You’ll hear from Kevin Humphreys, Australian war veteran, PTSD and mental health ambassador, at the Monday Kickoff Breakfast. Tuesday’s General Session features an aerial drift mock trial conducted by Anderson & Riddle, and you’ll hear from Noah Parr, Director of the Farm Labor Contractor Department for USA Farm Labor, on the ins and outs of the H2A program, which is hiring foreign workers.

If you want to grow your business, find a job or sell a product or service in the aerial application industry, the 2024 Ag Aviation Expo is the place for you! Our expo has everything from a world-class trade show floor featuring aircraft and helicopters to education sessions, expert speakers and many networking opportunities!  Convention room, board, travel and conference fees may also qualify as a tax-deductible business expense.

Getting to Fort Worth
Downtown Fort Worth is only 17.5 miles from the fourth-busiest airport in the world, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, the best gateway into the Americas. With 149 direct domestic connections, you can reach any major city in the U.S. in less than four hours. If you want to fly your own aircraft Fort Worth Meacham International Airport is 5.6 miles to the convention center.

As you search your airfare options into Fort Worth for the Ag Aviation Expo, visit NAAA’s Transportation Discount webpage and explore tickets on Delta and United Airlines.

Driving
If you’d like to fly into another airport and drive to Fort Worth, below are driving times from several airports:

  • Dallas Love Field (DAL): 32.5 miles
  • Oklahoma City – Will Rogers World Airport (OKC): 200 miles
  • Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS): 195 miles

Low-Time Pilot Registration
If you are an ag pilot with less than five years of experience or are interested in becoming an ag pilot, we are offering a special price to attend the NAAA Ag Aviation Expo for pilots like you. Further details are available here.

Details for the 2024 Ag Aviation Expo

  • Dates: Nov. 18-21, 2024
  • Location: Fort Worth Convention Center and Omni (across the street from Convention Center)
  • Kickoff Breakfast Speaker: Kevin Humphreys, War Veteran, PTSD Counselor, Mental Health Ambassador
  • Schedule of Events: See the current, tentative schedule here
  • NAAA Hotel Room Block: Details here
  • Attendee Registration: Details here
  • Exhibitor Booth Sales Open
  • Sponsorship Opportunities: View the sponsorships opportunities here. We have sponsorships available for all budget sizes. Please email Lindsay Barber if you would like to secure a sponsorship or learn more!
  • Auction Donations: Thank you to Pratt & Whitney Canada for donating a PT6-34AG to this year’s NAAA Live Auction. While we are still several months away from the Ag Aviation Expo, we are already accepting donations for the Live and Silent Auction. The earlier you inform us of your auction donation, the more advertising you will receive on the NAAA website and in NAAA publications. Support the aerial application industry by donating an item today. Contact Amy May for questions or your donation details.

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In Case You Missed Last Week’s NAAA eNewsletter

Click here for the October 3, 2024 eNewsletter to read:

  • NAAA Takes the Message of Ag Aviation’s Importance to Local Schools
  • Total Acre Farming: Matt Crabbe’s Aerial Application Adventures on RFD-TV
  • Best Management Practices for Spraying with an Unmanned Aerial Spray System Released by the Unmanned Aerial Pesticide Application System Task Force
  • NAAA Announces EPA’s Change in Aerial Drift Model Use Through Press Release to Agriculture Media
  • NAAA Support Committee Events at Ag Aviation Expo
  • Beware of Fraudulent Email
  • AD Issued for Tension Torsion Straps on Various Huey Models 
  • AD Issued for R44 Driveshaft Yoke

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