November 2023 - 19

AG TECH
"
DRONES ARE A TOOL THAT BASICALLY ANY SIZE GROWER CAN USE. THE DRONES
HAVE COME A LONG WAY FROM THE DAYS OF BEING A 2-ACRE MACHINE. NOW,
WE'RE UP TO 10-AND-A-HALF GALLONS, AND THE NEXT MODEL THAT'S GOING
TO BE COMING OUT WILL BE 13 GALLONS, SO THE SIZE OF THE DRONE JUST
CONTINUES TO INCREASE.
- Kenny Strong, Accurate Ag Spraying LLC
groves the following month. That required working
backwards in factoring when Bullseye applied
fertilizer and water to accommodate the service's
flight schedule and was a reason Klein said he chose to
run his own drones, which would provide more control
of when it would apply inputs.
Despite a high initial investment, owning can be
cost-effective in the long run, particularly if a grower
requires frequent or ongoing aerial data collection, said
Chad Colby, agricultural technologist consultant and
owner of ColbyAgTech.com. Contracting the service,
however, transfers the burden of maintenance, repairs
and compliance to the service provider, reducing grower
responsibility and allowing them to focus on core
operations, he said.
Providers may charge fees for services beyond
standard offerings, including customized analysis
and flight plans, specific images, data processing and
capture settings. Expect to be charged for flight set up
and take down and for additional equipment or sensors
and add-on services.
Additionally, some providers may require insurance
coverage and liabilities for their operations, while
others may require that growers add the drone company
as an additional insured party. Growers should clarify
insurance-related responsibilities and other costs up
front, he said.
There are times when drones may not make sense,
said Michael Reinke, Michigan State University
Extension viticulture specialist and integrated pest
management educator for fruits and vegetables.
" If you want to use a drone for scouting, identifying
issues or site planning, I think it could be worth it to
buy a drone and some mapping software and try it
out, " he said. " If you are interested in an application
drone, I would seriously think about contracting out
at least at first to see if it is a fit for your farm before
you look into the costs and certification challenges. In
addition to the several layers of certification, there is
the upfront cost. "
The decision to buy vs. renting can depend on an
operation's size.
" One of the greatest advantages of using drones is
their scalability, making aerial imagery applicable to both
large and small farms, " said Adityah Singh, assistant
professor of agricultural and biological engineering at
the University of Florida. " The investment in drones or
drone services can be tailored to the specific needs and
scale of the application, providing flexibility and costeffectiveness
in various contexts. "
Larger acreage operators would likely benefit more
by owning than smaller farms, Klein said. If a grower
uses a drone for only one or two fields, it could make
more sense to pay someone for the service, despite
possibly costing a little more in the end, he said. The
cost of software subscriptions would require the
grower to fly the drones more.
" It really depends on your scale, " Klein said. " If you're
a larger grower, it would make sense to have your own as
long as you have someone who can run and understand it
and know what you will do with the data. "
A basic subscription allows a limited number of image
uploads and requires more time as a grower transitions
to a business or commercial account as drone acreage
increases. The higher subscription costs allow growers
to become higher priorities with drone companies, who
can provide images in a matter of minutes or hours,
ready to forward to field supervisors in larger growing
operations or grower clients, Klein said.
" If you buy it and you don't use it, then it's pretty much
worthless anyway, " Klein said. " And then you've wasted
all that money. So, make sure you have enough ground
that you want to use it on, and then have someone who
is actually going to be able to use it. And then, someone
who can make change decisions based on those images
to make the information valuable. "
Drones help East Coast growers who, because
of their farm size, typically don't enjoy access to
aerial applicator services, which prefer to service
the larger row crop fields in the Midwest.
VEGETABLEGROWERSNEWS.COM | 19
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http://www.ColbyAgTech.com
November 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2023
