The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST AERIAL APPLICATION MADE BY
AN AIRPLANE
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HON. SAM GRAVES
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a very special anniversary for our country, an anniversary that exemplifies American ingenuity in aviation and agriculture--two industries very dear and important to me as well as vital to our planet. This anniversary is that of the first aerial agriculture aircraft taking flight. This type of aircraft makes it possible to feed not just America, but the entire globe.
Exactly 100 years ago today, on August 3, 1921, Lt. John Macready piloted a modified Curtiss JN-6 ``Super Jenny'' over a plot of catalpa trees. Macready had a passenger that used a hand-crank 10 dispense lead arsenate from a rudimentary hopper, which helped eradicate insects that were harming the crucial crops. Crop-dusting, now also known as aerial application or agricultural aviation, was born.
Today's agricultural aviation industry consists of 1,560 aerial application businesses that make aerial applications in all 50 states. The average agricultural pilot has approximately 25 years of experience. These pilots treat 127 million acres, or approximately 28 percent of cropland, each year. That means that just under a third of the food, fiber, and bioenergy produced in the United States today receives an aerial application. Not only does agricultural aviation feed our population--but it protects forests and eradicates disease-
carrying pests. The industry's ability to constantly evolve to the technological needs of the nation over the past hundred years is why aerial applicators have remained so important for a century.
Certainly, the future will be filled with unimaginable advances just as the past has. Lt. Macready in 1921 likely never could have imagined flying a massive aircraft, led by orbiting satellites and warned of weather, to a specific plot of farmland. Agricultural aviation's history is the story of agriculture's history--which is the story of American innovation. It is a story of adaptation and overcoming challenges for the public good. We give thanks to the industry and those that gave their lives to the industry. Please join me in wishing a happy 100th anniversary to this great American invention, and in looking forward to many, many more anniversaries in the future.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 138
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