Agriculture the most promising market for drones

Idaho farmer Robert Blair isn't waiting around for federal aviation officials to work out rules for drones. He and a friend built their own, outfitting it with cameras and using it to monitor his 1,500 acres (600 hectares).


Under 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) and 5 feet (1.5 meters) long nose to tail, the aircraft is the size of a turkey. Blair uses it to get a birds-eye view of his cows and fields of wheat, peas, barley and alfalfa.

In this July 2013, photo provided by Robert Blair, shows a multi-rotor hexacopter, an unmanned aircraft that Blair purchased to monitor his farm in Kendrick, Idaho. Experts say agriculture is the most promising commercial market for drones, the technology a perfect fit for America's large-scale farms and vast rural areas where privacy and safety issues are less of a concern. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Robert Blair).

"It's a great tool to collect information to make better decisions, and we're just scratching the surface of what it can do for farmers," said Blair, who lives in Kendrick, Idaho, roughly 275 miles (440 kilometers) north of Boise.

While Americans are abuzz about Amazon's plans to use self-guided drones to deliver packages, most future unmanned aircraft may operate far from the nation's large population centers.

Experts point to agriculture as the most promising commercial market for drones because the technology is a perfect fit for large-scale farms and vast rural areas where privacy and safety issues are less of a concern.

Already, farmers, researchers and companies are developing unmanned aircraft systems equipped with cameras and other sensors to survey crops, monitor for disease or precision-spray pesticides and fertilizers.

Drones, also known as UAVs, are already used overseas in agriculture, including in Japan and Brazil.

And the possibilities are endless: Flying devices could be used to ward off birds from fields, pollinate trees, do snow surveys to forecast water supply, monitor irrigation, or plant and harvest crops.

The technology could revolutionize agriculture, farmers say, by boosting crop health, improving field management practices, reducing costs and increasing yields.

So far, drones have been used mainly by the military. Interest is booming in finding other uses for them, but the possibilities are limited because of regulations on the use of airspace and privacy concerns.

In this May 2013 photo provided by Rhonda Blair, farmer Robert Blair stands in front of his tractor holding an unmanned aircraft that he built in Kendrick, Idaho. Blair uses the home-made drone equipped with up to four cameras to "scout" his 1,500 acres of wheat, peas, barley and alfalfa and cow pasture. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Rhonda Blair)

The Federal Aviation Administration does not allow drones' commercial use. Businesses and researchers can only apply for a special, experimental airworthiness certificate for research and development, flight demonstrations or crew training.

The FAA does allow public agencies—including law enforcement and other governmental agencies—to get a certificate of authorization to operate unmanned aircraft in civil airspace. About a dozen sheriff's offices, police and fire departments, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, have been allowed to use drones.