give me a break...

[tonycondon]

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=09ef4b7b-ed3d-4b21-8363-7b659a366b02&

if farming at an airport is a hazard then about every airport in the midwest is hosed.

oh wait, the airport manager at Ames seems more interested in renting the airport land out to the farmers to make some $$$ than in building a new runway, maybe I should forward this to him! one of our glider club members mentioned last year at an airport meeting that maybe we should tear up the runways and plant corn

 

[skyflyer8]

I'm right by ATW. I wonder if they are talking about geese, seagulls, or both?

Due to Lake Winnebago being in close proximity, we tend to have a lot of seagulls around here whether there is farmland or not. But when the farmers are doing work in the fields, I see a lot of seagulls swarming around. I would not want to worry about giant flocks of seagulls following a tractor around on an airport.

I have often heard a "use caution for flocks of migratory waterfowl" type of thing on Appleton's ATIS in the spring and fall. I'm not sure whether the geese would go away if the farming stopped.

We have seagulls and geese on our own airport without having a farm field around. They like to stand on the runway. We can't say it's because of farming.

Too bad I hardly go into Appleton and can't give you a better report on what is actually going on there.

When I was in Kankakee, IL one time this summer, birds were the last problem on my mind due to farming on the airport... Instead, a big crop duster was flying all over the airport spraying the crops. I had to time my departure to avoid the crop duster, who wasn't using a radio but hopefully was looking for traffic.

 

[One Short]

Ok, so what are the crops that they grow.

I have a little problem with growing corn and beets at airports around here because they really attract the deer. Hay usually doesn't get so high that you can't see the deer.
The only time we have seagull problems is right after the County Fair. They come to eat all the popcorn crumbs and hang out on the ramp.

Barb