Agriculture Needs Drone Technology, Say US Farmers

The Federal Aviation Administration has released new rules relating to the use of drones in agriculture, stating that farmers who operate the machines must hold a pilot’s license.

While commercial use of drones is banned in most US states, many farmers have been using drones anyway as a means to gain a birds-eye view of their fields and monitor their crops.

Move aside combine harvester

They claim that drone technology is vital for quickly scanning growing produce for disease and insects, and could potentially revolutionise the agriculture industry.

A scientist at San Francisco’s 3D Robotics told Fox News how the Z8M drone can fly over acres of land and detect discoloration unseen to the human eye.

“So we can, through the use of drones, understand how pesticides are working, understand pest problems better and potentially eliminate the need for pesticides in areas where it actually was a fungal problem and not a pest problem,” he said.

Drones have been a hot topic in recent months for their potential benefits, but concerns have also been raised over their privacy and safety risks.

Research from the University of Birmingham recently warned that the technology could be used by terror groups to attack public events, spy on individuals, or used by paparazzi to invade privacy.

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