In the wake of Hurricane Helene's devastating impact on the western regions of North Carolina, an unexpected group of heroes emerged: farmers armed with drones.
The Sprayhawk UAV from Rotor Technologies generated plenty of interest at the 2024 Farm Progress Show. Sprayhawk is a helicopter-turned-autonomous spray drone with a capacity of 110 gallons that can cover 240 acres per hour.
In response to proposed legislation aimed at banning drones manufactured by Chinese companies, a coalition of agricultural spray drone distributors is banding together to form a grassroots industry group.
For those deeply embedded in the fabric of the drone industry, the narrative surrounding DJI's eventual exclusion was not emerging from a vacuum. It unfolded with a sense of predictability.
A large drone dealer in Florida allegedly violated several FAA regulations in a case that serves as a harsh reminder to be up to speed on rules and required paperwork before flying drones or hosting clinics.
Rantizo has achieved a significant milestone in drone operations with the approval of an amendment to Exemption No. 18929B, allowing Rantizo service hub operators to swarm up to 3 drones over 55 pounds, without a visual observer (VO), and at night.
The current state of legislation would not prohibit the use of already purchased DJI drones in the United States, only the sale of DJI products in the U.S. Doing so would eliminate the most popular and highest-end drones used in the United States.
However promising new precision tools, like Pablo Sobron’s laser sensor or geospatial data from drones or satellites, are, it’ll likely take years for them to be adopted on thousands, let alone millions of farming acres.
Their ability to fly autonomously, capture high-resolution imagery, apply crop protection products, and precisely distribute seeds makes them an ideal tool for cover crop seeding.
Last week, I shadowed Dave Thompson in Amboy, Ill. He’s a precision farming specialist with Case IH dealer Johnson Tractor. He tells me most of his customers were done with harvest by the middle of October.
The college offers an associate degree in Applied Science in Agriculture (60 credit hours). Students enrolled in this program may specialize in precision farming technology by selecting up to 15 credit hours in this area and agriculture business, sales and agronomy.
The college offers an AAS in Precision Agriculture and customized precision ag- related training for agricultural producers, insurance underwriters, equipment dealer and agricultural cooperative employees and others.
Offering training on Ag Leader, Trimble, Reichhardt, Norac and Integris Systems in twice yearly customer training events (spring/fall). Also offering individual training opportunities on any HTS Ag products and SMS software, year round.