U.S. farmers hoping to use drones to locate lost livestock or monitor trouble spots in their fields were disappointed by what they say are overly restrictive commercial drone rules proposed Feb. 15 by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Earlier this week, the FAA posted two grants of exemption for Niceville, Florida-based Pravia LLC to operate the eBee Ag and E384 small unmanned aircraft systems for precision agriculture applications for a domestic agricultural seed company.

Trimble announced this week that it was among four companies the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted an exemption that will allow the company to conduct commercial operation of its Trimble UX5 Aerial Imaging Solution in the U.S.

Trimble announced this week that it was among four companies the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted an exemption that will allow the company to conduct commercial operation of its Trimble UX5 Aerial Imaging Solution in the U.S.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a much-awaited decision today that will surely be a disappointment to many drone enthusiasts, ruling that FAA rules that apply to manned aircraft apply to unmanned aircraft or drones, reports Forbes.com contributor John Goglia.

After years of waiting, a Federal Aviation Administration official said the agency was close to releasing a ruling that would give commercial entities greater access to fly small unmanned aerial system in the domestic airspace.

PrecisionHawk announced earlier this week that they have joined the Small UAV Coalition to help pave the way for commercial, philanthropic, and civil use of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the United States and abroad. Chief among the organization's goals is to advance a regulatory environment that will support safe, reliable, and timely operation of small UAVs.

In 2014, the FAA investigated New York City realtors using drones to document properties and issued guidelines saying the use of drones by farmers was unlawful.

Advances in unmanned aircraft systems combined with next generation sensors will contribute to the challenge of feeding our future world in a sustainable manner, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln engineer says.

Students in Bill Allen’s introductory drone class at the University of Missouri are flying craft inside a livestock facility,