Having grown up in a generation fed an abundance of eye opening and eye rolling science fiction fodder, I’ve gotten a pretty diverse taste of what the future of the world was supposed to look like by now.

If you've been watching the development of Unmanned Aerial Systems and wondering when you could put this new technology to work in your precision ag operation, the answer is "right now."

Remote-controlled drones that can fly over a farmer's fields looking for patches of weeds the pesticide spraying didn't kill, or signs of those troublesome groundhogs.

A research farm, field tile manufacturer and unmanned aerial vehicle vendor will be among the stops at this year's InfoAg pre-conference tour.

Drones continue their steady approach into the different aspects of our lives. But while controversy rages over drone devastation over foreign soil and prying surveillance over US soil, experts are beginning to point our attention to the real future of unmanned aerial vehicles: farming.

Crop scouting, 3-D mapping, spot spraying and pathogen detection all could be performed by unmanned aerial vehicles to cut labor and input costs and improve decision making.

Drones numbering in the tens of thousands will be in the skies by 2030, the Federal Aviation Administration predicts. But where some may fear precision weapons or flying spy cameras, Steve Markofski sees flying tractors.

Two small, remote-controlled aircraft are expected to start flying over potato fields in the Hermiston area this month as part of Oregon State University's efforts to help farmers more efficiently use water, fertilizers and pesticides to bolster yields and cut costs.

Members of the farming industry are beginning to see the potential of using robotics technology to save money and improve efficiency, said speakers at the AUVSI Atlanta Chapter's Conference on Unmanned Systems in Agriculture.

In the next few years, the unmanned aircraft industry is expected to skyrocket, creating 70,000 jobs and a $13 billion economic impact.