In my last article, I detailed my recent stint in the Midwest during the ever-so-famous "Corn Run." While my time there focused on Chem-Man's areas for improvement, it was also an eye-opening experience to see its strengths. One of the most significant features that Chem-Man boasts was something I often overlooked and took for granted until this summer when that feature became an integral part of my position while working for an operator in the Midwest.
When I begin working with a new company, one of the first things I do is to see whether they are in a Driftwatch by FieldWatch available state or if they often work in the vicinity of areas that are highly cautionary for drift avoidance. Many areas include but are not limited to seed production areas, beehives and apiaries, organic crops, hemp, and fruit/vegetable production. I learn this aspect about an operator to see if they are interested in utilizing the free integration that Chem-Man has with Driftwatch by FieldWatch. Having the option to populate these caution areas for an ag operator's mapping and operational management software is huge. It eliminates the need for cross-referencing multiple browser tabs, computer screens, or devices. One aspect of this integration I often overlooked that sets us leaps and bounds ahead of others is that Chem-Man offers Driftwatch areas on our maps in REAL time (live).
I was quick to see the value in this feature while I helped an operator in the Midwest this summer situated in the heart of seed corn production surrounded by some of the largest seed companies known to the industry. Before my time there, I was vaguely familiar with what occurred in seed corn production areas, but my knowledge was far from what I know and understand today. Eliminating the chance for accidental drift and human exposure was of the utmost importance for the operator I was helping and how the public views the aviation industry. The fields grown in seed corn have various times throughout the growing season when workers can be present. These workers can be in the field for just a few short minutes to most of the day. Their tasks could include field observations, detasseling, and rogueing.
When one of the fields containing seed corn is set to have workers present in them to any degree, then the person within the seed company designated to manage that field is responsible for marking that field in Driftwatch. When they designate that field as an area containing workers, they will mark the field as "planning" the day before. Once that day ends, the status will automatically change to "Occupied" at midnight. The area remains active until the person overseeing the activities in that field returns and removes that area as an active area once all the workers have left that field. These marked areas cannot have an "occupied" status for more than 48 hours by default to prevent the chance of a field staying marked indefinitely. The worker's task in the field can take any amount of time as many variables are involved, such as the workers' objective, the field size, the soil condition, the number of workers, and the contour of the area. Having the option with an ag operation's management and mapping software to display that area being marked as vacated in real-time is highly critical when the heat of the spraying season is highest and the work orders are accumulating. Being able to depend on a program like Chem-Man to display that in real time eliminates the need for looking at more than one screen. It eliminates the chance of miscalculating distances from the fields or from the possibility of misinterpreting the data displayed.
As previously mentioned, Chem-Man's integration with FieldWatch goes beyond displaying crews of seed corn workers by also displaying beehives, organic crop fields, and produce operations. While most of these areas are notated and very seldom change as often as the seed corn areas do, it's still a great feature to tie into an operation's mapping tool that is in real-time in the instance where one of these areas occurs without notice to an ag service. While Driftwatch is not available in all 50 states, it is available in 25 states and one Canadian province, with newly added states to be announced soon.
As most of us know, some individuals and organizations would like nothing more than to see aerial operations disappear. This unfortunate truth is why it's up to operators across the US to be diligent in eliminating the instances of off-target drift and human exposure cases that add fuel to the fire of the general public's negative perception of aerial applicators. While some of these unfortunate instances can and will inevitably happen, there are many tools to help reduce and eliminate the chances of this happening. That is why Chem-Man is proud to offer this feature in real-time within our mapping tools and is grateful for our relationship with Driftwatch by FieldWatch.
