North Dakota
North Dakota aerial applicators set an acreage record in 2024 while recording no fatalities
BISMARCK, N.D. — Aerial applicators in North Dakota treated 5.5 million acres in 2024 — setting a new record while recording no fatal incidents in the year among pilots.
“It’s really astounding when you think about 160 skilled pilots and what they’re able to do,” said Kyle Wanner, executive director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission. “When you go back to the ’80s, we had double the amount of aerial applicators, we had double the amount of pilots, and we had double the amount of aircraft. And so we’re doing much more today with less, and that’s due to the incredible work of these skilled aviators and the technology, the larger aircraft that they’re flying.”
The previous record was 5.2 million acres, set in 2015. The average acreage treated since 2001 has been 4 million acres. According to the National Agricultural Aviation Association, aerial applicators nationwide treat approximately 127 million acres of cropland, 5.1 million acres of forests, 7.9 million acres of pasture and rangeland and 4.8 million acres of public health spraying, including for mosquito abatement.
Jenny Schlecht / Agweek
Steve Iglehart, president of the North Dakota Agricultural Aviation Association, said bigger airplanes that can fly faster with more reliable turbine engines play a big role in allowing fewer pilots to cover more acres, as does GPS.
“GPS is a big, huge, huge for aviation,” said Iglehart, an aerial applicator who works in the Garrison area. “Airplanes are just faster and more productive now than they’ve ever been. I started off in the smaller airplane, 150 gallon hopper. You know, it works good for close in, 10 miles, 20 miles out. Then I get a 400 gallon hopper, one. Then you go out farther, 30 miles. Then a 500 gallon hopper — then you go out even a little bit farther and carry more. You can get more done in the shorter time.”
Treatments applied via airplane can include things like fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. Unique agronomic conditions also were involved in the record acreage in 2024.
“So we had a lot of moisture, wet ground in the eastern part. The rain came at the right time. Usually, if you get rain in June, you’re pretty much going to be guaranteed for a fungicide run somewhere,” he said.
Commodity prices were high enough in the spring that farmers saw the need to protect the crop. And if they aren’t using aerial application, farmers realize that they’ll have to apply from the ground. Saving the time on the farm staff, compaction from the sprayer and the wear and tear on the ground sprayer can mean that “sometimes the airplanes are flying for free,” Iglehart said.
“You know, they don’t have to hire somebody. They don’t have to find somebody to mix and load for them. That’s usually the aerial guy’s job. We can go farther. We can go cut across the field faster, get to a location faster than they can, if it’s safe. They got a field 30 miles away? We can get to it faster before a wind can come up. We’ve got the prime conditions to get something done at the right time,” he said.
Contributed / North Dakota Aeronautics Commission
After several
crashes
resulting in
fatalities
among aerial applicators in the region in 2023, a larger focus has been placed on safety. Iglehart said fatigue and the unique situations pilots encounter — like flying low and dealing with power lines — play a part.
“There’s days where you can get about 14 hours just running an airplane,” he said. “It’s a high-stakes game.”
He stressed the importance of pilots getting enough sleep, eating right and staying hydrated and positive as things that can help. But his association also took another step in 2024, putting on an eight-hour course on flying in wires and situational awareness. He credits the course for the clean 2024 flying season and said the association may make it a regular thing.
“I think that course paid dividends, for sure, in this last year,” he said. “It is expensive to have, but it’s cheap insurance when the return on investment is, nobody loses their life or has an accident. Everybody always needs to be reminded of things. Doesn’t matter how old or young you are. It’s just a good awareness thing to have.”
Contributed / North Dakota Aeronautics Commission
All aerial applicators must be licensed by the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission and must report their acreage to the commission by Dec. 1. North Dakota has 78 licensed manned aerial applicators, operating 183 aircraft with 156 pilots, and 21 unmanned aerial applicators, who operate drones in precision agriculture operations.
The unmanned aerial applicator portion is fairly new. The Aeronautics Commission has been licensing drone applicators who provide crop treatments since 2022. The 5.5 million acres treated in 2024 included 70,000 acres treated via unmanned aerial application. Wanner expects the number of unmanned operators to increase.
“The interest continues to grow,” he said. “We have 21 licensed unmanned operators. It might be up to 40 by the end of this year … based on the interest that we’re receiving.”
The North Dakota Legislature will consider during the 2025 session
House Bill 1037
, which would set up grant programs for use of autonomous systems, including drones, in multiple areas, including agriculture. The bill has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee and had not had a hearing scheduled as of Jan. 15.
Iglehart doesn’t know anyone operating a drone for crop treatments in his area, but he thinks they have their place in the industry.
“Where I like to see those things is probably under power lines and around corners,” he said.
He said they’re also useful for small plots where it wouldn’t make sense to “fire up the airplane.”
Wanner stressed that licensing is mandatory for applying crop treatments via drone.
“You can’t just go out there and mix the chemical and start flying that aircraft. There are a couple of things that we just need to ensure that you’re doing prior to that, but it is actually a relatively easy process once you really understand it, and we’re happy to walk through that with anybody,” Wanner said.
Jenny Schlecht / Agweek
The process includes getting a Remote Pilot Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration, an Agricultural Aircraft Operator certificate from the FAA, a North Dakota Pesticide Certificate from North Dakota State University and an Unmanned Aerial Applicator License from the Aeronautics Commission.
Wanner said properly following those steps are critical in ensuring safety for operators and for the public, even if someone is just spot spraying on their own farm.
“Those are just some things that are critical, because at the end of the day, we want a professional environment. We want a professional environment for our aerial applicators, but also for our unmanned air applicators,” Wanner said.
Getting more pilots in the air
While more acres are getting covered with fewer pilots than in the past, the aerial applicator community still is looking for more young people interested in flying. Like farming, Wanner said it can be a difficult industry to get into, so discussions about how to get people interested and involved are ongoing.
“We want to obviously excite the next generation,” he said, noting that new technology and automation may be interest points for some. “You know, there’s different things like like that may come into play to make things easier moving forward.”
Iglehart said anyone interested in becoming an aerial applicator should contact a local applicator and visit with them about opportunities.
“Basically, they’re going to put you as a loader guy. Get learning and mixing and loading the airplane, get familiar with that. And then if they feel you can handle that well, then you can start applying for your private pilot license. Then you go into just flying a little bit, practicing the spray runs. And then if he feels like you can move on to the next step, he’ll put you in an airplane that you can track your GPS and just learn the basics and be safe,” he said.
FARGO — Drivers can expect to see a slight uptick in gas prices as a result of the Iran conflict.
As of Monday, March 2, the average for North Dakota is $2.65 a gallon. While that is a $0.13 increase from a month ago, it is significantly lower than prices a year ago.
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GRAND FORKS – The Study ND, formerly Humanities North Dakota, has received $15,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts for a statewide theater and humanities initiative in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
This commemorative investment is meant to bring historical events and figures – such as the framers of the U.S. Constitution – to life through virtual and live performances that celebrate the nation’s history.
The grant, along with funding from private sources, has made it possible for The Study ND to host “America 250” activities after the organization sustained a considerable cut in funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities last year, according to Brenna Gerhardt, The Study ND executive director.
“We absorbed a 50% budget cut, resulting in a loss of $467,645 in funding,” Gerhardt said. “As a result, we had to significantly scale back our American 250 initiatives focused on American history and civics education.”
Funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts will be used to present public readings, theatrical portrayals and guided discussions to encourage audience members to reflect on the nation’s founding in 1776 and on its democratic ideals, while engaging in contemporary conversations about civic life.
All of the programming in the series organized by The Study ND, titled “American Heroes,” will be livestreamed statewide.
In the grant application submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts, “we framed the project around a simple idea: democracy requires more than information, it requires citizens who can think historically, listen well, and argue in good faith,” Gerhardt said.
“This series uses living history performances to bring consequential figures into the room, then turns the room into a civic space through moderated dialogue and related public events. We define ‘heroism’ as civic courage under pressure, the willingness to contend with hard truths, and the capacity to enlarge a community’s moral imagination,” she said.
“The project does not ask audiences to agree on a single interpretation of a figure. It invites them to grapple with complexity together, and to connect the past to the responsibilities of the present.”
When Gerhardt and her colleagues received the application for grant proposals from the National Endowment for the Arts, “we were already planning a line-up of America 250 events and it fit perfectly with what we were already planning, so then we just wrote the grant,” she said.
Private funds, including matching funds from the Bismarck-based Tom and Frances Leach Foundation, have also been provided for this project.
Details about all the events will probably be posted on the website
www.TheStudyND.org
in March, Gerhardt said.
The America 250 events, which are planned to take place at Bismarck State College, are 5-6 p.m. July 8, “Reading of the Declaration of Independence, with John Adams,” and 6-7:30 p.m. July 9, “Alexander Hamilton Speaks,” both performed by William Chrystal.
The Living History programs are planned for 7-8:15 p.m. Sept. 17, “Thomas Paine,” performed by Doug Mishler, and Oct. 6, 7-8:15 p.m, “Frederick Douglass,” performed by Nathan Richardson. Both will be moderated by Susan Frontczak.
The performers Chrystal and Richardson live in Virginia, Frontczak in Colorado,and Mishler in Nevada.
Another program, “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” is set for Sept. 16-18 at Bismarck State College, Gerhardt said. “It is part of our broader Chautauqua/living history programming connected to America 250 … (and) will feature performances and discussion centered on Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, using their lives and writing as a way to explore major questions about American identity, war reporting, public memory, and the stories we tell about freedom, conflict and responsibility.
“What I am excited about with this event is that it gives us a way to approach America 250 beyond founding-era material. In other words, it helps us show the American story is not just about 1776, but also about the generations that followed and how Americans wrestled with democracy, power, truth and moral courage.”
This program “expands the initiative beyond commemoration into reflection, dialogue and interpretation, which is where the humanities are especially valuable,” she said. “It helps us reach audiences who may be drawn in through literature, journalism and performance, not only traditional history events.”
The Hemingway and Gellhorn program fits in with America 250 in that “it broadens the frame and adds depth to the larger effort.”
Gerhardt is hoping that these activities will give participants “a better understanding of all the debates and issues going on when our country was founded, and how those debates are continuing today,” she said, “and just to be more thoughtful and informed citizens.”
College students and members of the general public will also be invited to participate in a workshop aimed at teaching participants how to build a living history performance from primary sources and historical research.
Last year, The Study ND lost a substantial amount of funding – nearly $468,000, about half of its annual budget – from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its fiscal 2025 year.
The loss of that much funding was discouraging, Gerhardt said. “Very much so, because we had a lot of activities planned for America 250 and we had to cancel a lot of them, or – like in this case – seek other funding, which we were lucky to get.”
The Study ND currently has four full-time employees, she said. “We eliminated a part-time marketing position after the cuts.”
A nonprofit organization, The Study ND provides civics, arts and cultural education programming. The organization’s programs – which include online classes, book talks, lectures and more – reached about 24,000 people in 2024, Gerhardt told the North Dakota Monitor in April 2025.
During the summer, the organization hosts a civics education program for high school and middle school social studies teachers, she said.
On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men
Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.
Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.
First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.
None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.
Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.
Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.
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