How a Nebraska farmer is using new drone technology to help crops
Once thought of as an aerial tool used for action photography and surveying land, drones are now working their way into the agricultural industry.
John Zalauf, from Beatrice, Nebraska, has been a farmer for 30 years.
"I use ground equipment. I use aerial with an airplane application, and now, this year, we've added a drone to that," Zalauf said.
Zalauf said some farmers are skeptical of full-scale crop dusting, but now, there is something new — sprayers attached to drones.
"The acreage owners come out and watched, and they were very impressed and happy with the job that it did," Zalauf said.
"As far as a sprayer goes, you're looking at upwards of three-quarters of a million or better for a new one. These are under $100,000 just to get started," Andrew Kreikemeier, one of three co-founders of Infinity Precision Ag, said.
Zalauf hired him this past harvest season to help with drone spraying and surveying.
"When I brought the adjuster in, we knew where to go in the field to really get an accurate adjustment of the damage out there. And it was, it was very beneficial to do that," Zalauf said.
While it may sound like science fiction, Dirk Charlson, who focuses on digital ag at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said drones are the future.
"I really do see in 10 years that the spray drone may replace a lot of the application just because of safety, labor and cost-effectiveness," Charlson said.
He said spray drones are a new phenomenon in Nebraska.
After a drone conference this past August in Lincoln, a survey showed that 70% of attendees were using spray drones or showed interest in wanting to learn.
"Most of my work now is trying to answer questions and doing education related to spray drones," Charlson said.
This year, drone manufacturer Hylio became the first in the United States to secure Federal Aviation Administration approval for swarming drones that weigh more than 55 pounds.
"Drone swarming is when you pair two or three of these drones in tandem, working off of one controller, and you can cover a lot more acres in a setting," Kreikemeier said.
And there are other applications for drones. This summer, Zalauf's farm was hit by windstorms. Kreikemeier used a technique called mapping to determine where on the property wind gusts had caused damage.