Expect to see drones flying over vineyards, orchards and fields soon.
A Hayden, Idaho, company — the first in the nation with federal permission to use unmanned aircraft for commercial agriculture — is lining up farming clients in the Yakima Valley and throughout the Northwest.
The idea is to let farmers use drones to survey their crops from the air for soil conditions, leaf development or disease indicators — things they now do with satellites, manned planes or pickups.
“We know it works,” said Brad Ward, president of Empire Unmanned of Hayden. Empire Unmanned is based at Empire Airlines’ 50,000-square-foot corporate facilities north of the main runway at the Coeur d’Alene Airport.
The company’s other Idaho-based partners in the venture are Advanced Aviation Solutions LLC, of Star, and Blair Three Canyon Farms, of Kendrick. Ward had a 20-year Air Force career, including nine flying Predator and Global Hawk drones and working on UAV policy.
Company pilots will begin flying drones for farmers as early as next month, charging growers by the acre — generally $3 an acre — to show up with the eBee Ag, a foam plane with a 40-inch wingspan that even Ward admits looks like a toy.
Drone proponents say the service should appeal to anybody involved with precision agriculture, a broad term used to describe farming that uses technology and mathematics to provide crops with the exact amount of fertilizer, water and pesticides necessary to maximize yields and, therefore, profits. Satellite imagery, GPS mapping and tractors that drive themselves already play a part.
After the initial expense, drones would prove faster and cheaper in the long run, sellers argue. Washington State University researchers wielding prototypes frequently tout drones at grower meetings.
“Growers are eager” to give it a try, said Mike Bush, a Washington State University Yakima County extension instructor.
The best part about Empire Unmanned, Ward said, is that the service will be completely, without-a-doubt legal.
Farmers already are using drones in the area and throughout the nation, albeit by stretching the limits of rapidly changing regulations. They purchase the planes online. Some allow users to control them with a smartphone application, turning their screen into a virtual cockpit.
Technically, the Federal Aviation Administration considers most unmanned aircraft as hobby planes — toys. Regulations allow hobbyists to fly drones up to 400 feet high over sparsely populated areas and within line of sight of the operator only for personal use.
For example, a wealthy man flying a drone over his waterfront home for pretty aerial photos that he wants to hang on his wall would be fine. A real estate agent doing the same thing to help sell that house would require special permission — or exemption — from the FAA.
On Jan. 6, Empire Unmanned, created by a farmer and two men with military drone backgrounds, received the exemption specifically for commercial agriculture. The other 28 exemptions listed on the FAA website mostly went to aerial photography or film-making companies.
“You had to apply for a purpose, had to prove there was a benefit to the public,” Ward said. “Improve farming in the United States. That’s why it was in the public interest.”
The company now awaits for a certificate of authorization from the FAA to fly in the region, a step that involves coordination with air traffic controllers at nearby airports, Ward said.
Drones, once something only the military talked about, are creeping into everyday life in the United States. Amazon and shipping firms have experimented with using them to deliver packages, while police agencies are also discussing their possible use in law enforcement.
That has some lawmakers taking note. Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, has sponsored House Bill 1639, which aims to draw a clear line of when and how law enforcement agencies can use drones and when they need a warrant.
Rob Mercer, president of Mercer Canyons, a vegetable, wine grape and seed company that covers vast stretches of the Horse Heaven Hills south of Prosser and Mabton, finds the idea promising for agriculture.
“I think it’s certainly another tool that could be helpful in creating a higher situational awareness of what’s going on in your crops,” Mercer said.
Mercer already sends up manned planes once a week now, taking three or four different types of crop photos, including infrared and thermal images. The photos give him an idea of foliage strength, which he uses to adjust water and nutrients.
But planes fly at 5,000 feet. Drones can get closer and be used more often.
“It’s certainly not an earth-shattering technology … but it will make us one step better,” Mercer said.
Material from the Journal of Business serving Spokane and Kootenai counties is included in this report.
