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Natalie Schuler
ENGL 10600
Brittany Biesiada
03/09/2015
Drones in Todays Agriculture
Drones have become a very controversial issue. Normally when hearing the word
drone, many people think of military drones. That perspective is quickly changing. Drones are
becoming more and more prevalent in agriculture. Although there are many obstacles to
overcome, drones can and are revolutionizing agriculture for the better.
Drones have been commonly known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that are used
for surveillance and targeting enemies in the military. They have also been used for dropping
bombs, monitoring borders, and taking the place of soldiers. Japan is doing something different;
they are using drones for agricultural purposes.
Drones have also become more popular with people, known as hobbyists. The Federal
Aviation Administration, also known as FAA, knows that small drones like this exist and have
issued regulations pertaining to these drones. In a recent Farm Journal article, John Dillard
explains that, [The] FAA allows model plane hobbyists to operate remote-controlled airplanes
and helicopters, so long as their use is strictly recreational, (1). The United States currently has
limitations on commercial use of drones. If you are flying the drone for profit and flying it
over someone elses land, you have to have permission to be there and an FAA license
(Roberson 1). This is just one example of the limitations on drones.
Drones can revolutionize agriculture tremendously. They are part of the precision
agriculture trend. Precision agriculture uses technology to reduce costs and maximize yields.
Drones fit perfectly in precision agriculture. Agriculture UAVs can be used for field trials and

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research, help determine biomass, crop growth, and quality, precision farming, and the general
monitoring of crops, (Grenzdrffer 1).
Currently for farmers to scout their crops they either pay big bucks for an airplane to fly
over their fields or walk them themselves. This is where drones should and will come into place.
Drones can eliminate both of these and be more beneficial and cost efficient. Agriculture based
drones are fitted with cameras. [These cameras] enable farmers to get a birds eye-view of their
crop by flying at low altitudes. Using Infra-red imaging, drones can also detect which plants are
sick and which ones are healthy, (Sharma 2-3). It is less timely to fly over your fields with a
drone than to walk them. It is also more cost effective than to fly over with an airplane. The CEO
and cofounder of 3D Robotics and founder of DIY Drones, Chris Anderson, explains this, Its
also much cheaper than crop imagine with a manned aircraft, which an run $1,000 an hour.
Farmers can buy the drones outright for less than $1,000 each, (Anderson 1-2). Dan Moehn,
vice president of Landmark Services Cooperatives agronomy division, says Whenever you see
a field from a different perspective, youre able to pick up new information, (Potter 1). Flying
over fields with drones is not only cheaper, but more beneficial.
Drones in agriculture can also help the environment. Farmers typically spray pesticides
over their crops to prevent fungal infections. Currently they spray them uniformly over the entire
field. Brandon Basso, lead researcher at 3D Robotics says, It is not environmentally great or
financially great. According to him, the use of drones can mitigate some of these drawbacks.
For example, farmers can choose to not spray pesticides based on an aerial survey of their crop
using drones. Alternately, they can selectively spray pesticides only on plants that need attention,
thus minimizing environmental damage and saving money, (Sharma 2). Applying pesticides

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only where needed would save farmers an abundance of money, but also be better on the
environment.
Chris Anderson better explains the details that drones can provide. Seeing crops from an
aerial view can reveal patterns such as irrigation, soil variation, and pest and fungal infestations.
The cameras on these drones can take multiple forms of images. They can capture infrared
images as well as the visual spectrum. These images can then later be combined to see things that
the visual eye could not see. Drones can survey crops hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. This is
beneficial to see the changes in the crop; showing troubled spots but also healthy spots,
(Anderson 2).
With the growing of drones in agriculture, many jobs are to be created and increase the
economy. According to a study by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International,
drones in the U.S. can produce approximately 100,000 new jobs and increase the economic
activity by $82 billion, just between 2015 and 2025, (Sharma 1). These jobs would be added in
drone production, sales, and consultants.
The companies manufacturing these drones are working with farmers to better understand
their needs. They want the drones to work with and fit in the equipment; they arent trying to
entirely replace equipment. Doing this makes it easier and encourages farmers to use drones.
Although it takes out some of the new mechanics of drones, they still require technical
knowledge. This is why companies such as 3D Robotics are selling the drones to crop analysts,
who then recommend them to farmers.
Some of the setbacks to the use of drones in agriculture include privacy concerns and
airspace. 120 meters is the regulatory ceiling in the United States for unmanned aircraft
operating without special clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration, (Anderson 1). It

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is said that the law is not very clear on where the landowners airspace ends and the public
airspace begins. Some say that the property owners airspace is as tall as the land is wide. Others
argue that rural areas dont face the same safety and privacy concerns as urban areas. Were all
out in rural areas and were going to be flying over flat terrain without a lot of man-made
obstacles, (Senger 2).
The government knows that these small drones are out there. The United States Senate
held their first session on March 20, 2013 on the future of drones in America. In the opening
statement, Patrick J. Leahy, a U.S. Senator from Vermont states, Just in the last decade,
technological advancements have revolutionized aviation to make this technology cheaper and
more readily available. As a result, may law enforcement agencies, private companies, and
individuals have expressed interest in operating drones in our national airspace, (1). The
government is actively working to establish boundaries on these small UAVs.
We expect 9.6 billion people to call Earth home by 2050. All of them need to be fed.
Farming is an input-output problem. If we can reduce the inputswater and pesticidesand
maintain the same output, we will be overcoming a central challenge, (Anderson 2). I believe
that this really speaks. If we know that our ways now will not provide and be efficient enough
for us in the future, and these drones will help that, why are we taking so long to implement
drones in agriculture? There are far more positives that outweigh the negatives. I believe that we
should work to overcome the setbacks, and use drones to advance agriculture.

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Works Cited
Anderson, Chris. Agricultural Drones. Technology Review 117.3 (2014): 58-60. Military &
Government Collection. Web. 6 Mar. 2015.
Dillard, John. Drones and the law. Farm Journal 15 Feb. 2014: 22. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.
Grenzdrffer, G.J., A. Engel, and B. Teichert. The Photogrammetric Potential of Low-Cost
UACs in Forestry and Agriculture. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry,
Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 37.B1 (2008): 1207-1214. Web. 2
Mar. 2015.
Potter, Ben. Extra eyes for farmers: regional cooperative uses drones for scouting. Implement
& Tractor 1 Sept. 2013: 31. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.
Roberson, Roy. Drones may help detect crop problems at early stage. Southeast Farm Press 21
Oct. 2013. Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Web.
6 Mar. 2015.
Senger, Emily. Farming on the fly: military drones are finding new users: keeping track of
cattle and, perhaps one day, delivering the mail. Macleans 14 Jan. 2013: 49. Biography
in Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2015.
Sharma, Rakesh. Growing the Use of Drones in Agriculture. Forbes. 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 3
Mar. 2015.
The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations. U.S.
Government Printing Office: Washington, 2013. Print.