Droves of drones at Big Iron

WEST FARGO, N.D. -- Drones flew above a demonstration field recently in West Fargo, N.D. Someday, drones could be commonplace above Upper Midwest fields and pastures -- provided the Federal Aviation Administration releases some long-awaited guidelines.

"There's a great deal of interest," says John Nowatzki, North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural machine systems specialist. "Producers see a number of potential benefits in this technology."

Nowatzki was one of the speakers at the annual Big Iron Farm Show Sept. 9 to 11 in West Fargo. Drones, also known as unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, and unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are one of the hottest topics in agriculture today, and Big Iron featured UAS seminars and demonstrations.

The hope is, farmers and ranchers will be able to use images taken from drones to run their operations more efficiently and profitably. Possibilities include drone-supplied images of pastures and feedlots that indicate whether any of the animals are sick and aerial images of growing crops that indicate whether the crops would benefit from chemical application.

In many cases, drones are a natural extension of, and improvement on, what farmers are doing already, says Zach Fiene, co-founder of DMZ Aerial, UAV Technologies, of Prairie du Sac, Wis. He spoke and demonstrated his products at Big Iron.

The addition of drones is similar to what happened "when farmers went from walking their fields to driving through their fields with four-wheelers," he says.

The use of four-wheelers allowed farmers to collect more information, and more quickly, on crop conditions, and the use of drones would do the same, he says.

Questions

But there are questions.

The biggest and most immediate is when the FAA will issue drone guidelines. Congress has ordered the FAA to come up with guidelines on how to incorporate drones safely into the nation's air space. There have been several delays, but it appears now that at least some of the guidelines could be released later this year, according to published reports.

Some in agriculture are growing frustrated with the FAA and the delays. But the organization is doing the best it can, says Michael Corcoran, with the University of North Dakota Aerospace Department, who spoke at Big Iron.

He's reluctant to predict when the FAA might issue the guidelines, but says he's confident they'll come eventually.

Corcoran encourages anyone interested in using drones to check out the FAA website, www.faa.org .

'Tool in the tool box'

Some farmers and ranchers are concerned about the specific type of aircraft they'll use.

But the aircraft on which cameras will be mounted isn't nearly as important as making effective use of the information provided by the camera, says Chris Poulson of North County Ag Services in Casselton, N.D., a data processing and analysis company. He spoke at Big Iron.

The drone itself "is a tool in the tool box. It's the data that's important," he says.

"We could talk until we're blue in the face about this platform (type of aircraft) versus that platform," he says. "But pick one that you know how to operate, to fly, that's getting the data you want. It's how you analyze that data, or how the company you're partnering with analyzes the data."

In deciding what type of aircraft to use, farmers need to consider how the information it acquires will be put to practical use, Fiene says.

Some farmers and ranchers want to learn more about actually operating drones in the air.

The companies that make UAVs are the best sources of information on their operation, Poulson says.

Satellites

Satellites also provide images that farmers and ranchers can use in their daily operations.

Several companies are establishing networks of low-orbit satellites that they say will provide useful, affordable data for farmers and ranchers.

Poulson says weather conditions can hamper satellites from consistently providing reliable information.

Fiene says ag producers eventually will utilize a combination of satellites and drone images.

Joe Heupel, who has a diversified farming operation near Medina, N.D., attended Big Iron and took in the drone demonstration on Sept. 11.

He still has questions about them, but he's optimistic drones eventually can play a useful role in his operation.

"We sure hope so," he says.