Republican-Clipper photo
Three crop dusters from aerial spray services based in Lamoni and Chillicothe spent Friday planting a cover crop on 800 acres of John Meek’s farm near Ridgeway. Meek said this is an increasingly common practice for farmers in the area. The planes spent the day shuttling seed from the Roy Broyles Memorial Airport to Meek’s farm. The cover crop consisted of rye, oats, rape seed, turnips and carrots. “It protects the soil from erosion in between crops,” Meek explained. Cattle particularly like the turnips and carrots which loosen the soil. The planes were flown by Bob Peniston’s Precision Ag Air company in Chillicothe and Stardust Ag Aviation in Lamoni managed by Dana Massey. Others pictured above were Colton Oakes, Arlena Money, Harley Dickesen, Andy Buckler and Chase Emmons.