London Inc. Summer 2021 - 21

" IT'S KIND OF ALWAYS BEEN IN
MY BLOOD " -David Hodgins
" When we put the fungicide on, the main thing is plant
health, " says Paul Hodgins. " It keeps the plant greener longer,
and it's a stronger plant to stand through the fall. "
Aerial spraying is also more efficient than spraying with a
land vehicle, but in lean years it's an expense some farmers
choose to avoid. That's one of the key challenges.
" We're at the whim of the commodity prices ... as far as the
agricultural work, " continues Hodgins.
In the fall and winter, General Airspray shifts its focus
to aerial tree planting in Northern Ontario, Quebec,
Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Small, single-engine
Super Cub aircraft carry 80-kilogram Brohm tanks that drop
thousands of seeds onto harvested and fire-ravaged woodlots.
The company began its seeding work in the late 1960s and
has seeded nearly 1.5 million acres since then, at a rate of
about 12 acres per minute. Three seasonal pilots and three
full-time employees pull together to ensure the operation
proceeds without a hitch.
In the summer, Hodgins typically begins his day at 4
a.m. and finishes late in the evening. He'll fly several hours
to a job, fill and refill the venerable Ag-Cat sprayers with
fungicide, fly home and repeat the process the next day.
He grew up around this kind of work and fell in love with
it. Like many pilots, he can't imagine a better office than
the cockpit of a plane.
" It's kind of always been in my blood, " he says. " I'm
more of a morning person, so I don't mind getting up. "
BEN FORREST
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SUMMER 2021 | londonincmagazine.ca | 21
photos: eric dumigan photography

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London Inc. Summer 2021

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