It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but every once in a while, I come upon something worth repeating. I’m sure many of you have heard the 80-10-10 story that I tell when it comes to drift reduction products: 80 percent of the time nothing happens, 10 percent of the time the result is worse, and 10 percent of the time there is a definite improvement.
Laboratory results may be better, but actual field experience has been pretty close to this. For years, Arkansas S.A.F.E. clinics have included one day of field evaluations of drift potential. These evaluations have included a variety of different equipment setups and operating variables and typically include the favored drift reduction additives for the area. The data has been quite sporadic and probably a reflection of the variety of setups, weather conditions, mixing procedures, and operating variables. With all that said, there have been a few products that consistently show a positive response. Control™ from GarrCo Products, Inc., has been one of the products that has consistently shown a reduction in drift potential.
A replicated field study was conducted a few years ago to look at 19 different drift control additives and water using two aircraft. The aircraft were selected to give two separate speed scenarios, at 115 and 150 mph. This study appears on Garrco.com. I encourage you to obtain a copy of that report and see how you favorite product performed. Control™ was one of the top-performing products in this study.
The key to consistency can also hinge back to how well products perform under real field situations. Arkansas had many operators utilizing Control™ as a drift control additive. Some of the comments I hear are: “Best material I’ve ever used.” , “Very easy to mix and load.” , “The material that I used to get on the windshield is gone.” , “Where can I get some Control™?” When one starts hearing these types of comments, there may be more to the performance than just good lab results.
I was visiting a couple of different operators during the season and overheard conversations where they were either going to borrow some Control™ from someone else’s pallet until their shipment came in or another operator was coming to borrow some from there. This alone may tell the true story on performance. Mixing and compatibility are one of the major issues with any drift reduction additive. John Garr and I met with an Arkansas aerial applicator on a very cold morning to evaluate several different tank mixes. John has some new products under development and the mix results on those are another story, but we tried every way we could think of to cause mix problems with Control™ without success. Control™ mixed very easily under all scenarios, even with almost ice-cold water!
I have had any number of operators ask me which drift control products are best. I’m not so sure there is a best product. Remember there are many application variables. I would recommend that operators select a product that consistently shows positive results. Also, additives alone are not the complete answer; although properly utilized, they may provide an extra margin of safety. Operators should use every tool possible to avoid drift, and proper equipment setup and operation will always play a dominant role.
