Drones on the Farm
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Drones on the Farm: Low Costs, High Yields

According to the latest annual survey conducted by the American Spray Drone Coalition (ASDC), drone use in U.S. agriculture has expanded dramatically, with total coverage reaching 16.4 million acres in 2025 — nearly a 60 percent increase, year over year.

This agricultural drone technology has begun to address many of the problems associated with crop dusting using small airplanes, which may account for ag drones’ increasing popularity.

Crop dusters have long been a quick and cost-effective method for applying pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to fields during crops’ critical developmental stages. Aerial application avoids the sacrifice of valuable crops beneath the wheels of agricultural machinery, and avoids the stress, expense, and safety concerns earth-bound application often entails.

However, to be effective, the planes have to fly at high speeds and low altitudes, increasing the risk of accidents in populated areas. Aerial spraying from fast-moving planes can be imprecise, too, sometimes causing chemical drift that could potentially damage local vegetation and gardens, poison livestock and wildlife, or cause human health issues.

The advantages of drone use are many. However, it’s important to be aware of its limitations.

Pros

While they are fairly new on the agricultural scene in North America and Europe, drones have been a presence on farms in Asia and Latin America for years, and as a result the equipment now available to domestic farm operations is time-tested and sophisticated.

  • Drones offer many of the advantages of crop-duster application but add a level of precision, operator safety, and cost-per-acre savings to the process, which until now has been unachievable. For instance, one 2025 study showed that ag drones reduced pesticide use by 30–50 percent. Such savings are part of the reason that drone application is growing. The ASDC’s most recent survey showed pesticide price-per-acre has gone from $21 to $13, a 38 percent single-year drop.
  • Other uses on the farm make drones a great tool. For instance, equipped with advanced imaging systems, drones can enable farmers and ranchers to map their land rapidly and create extremely accurate 3D models and topographical maps — a boon in their efforts to get the most from their acreage.
  • The list of tasks that drones can help with is long. Sowing seed, monitoring livestock, measuring soil conditions, gauging crop growth, managing irrigation, detecting weeds, and, under the guidance of AI, autonomously gathering other data. Far from being the fragile toys seen buzzing over public parks and beaches, these are often robust aircraft capable of carrying weights in the neighborhood of 100 kilos (more than 220 pounds), spray-loads of up to 500 liters (110 gallons), and accommodating spray-rates of up to 240 acres per hour.

Cons

There are always risks associated with introducing a new technology into an existing operation, and drones are no different.

  • Drones equipped with cameras can potentially be misused to capture private images, and the tech’s vaunted precision of application can be used by bad actors to sabotage agricultural operations, making adequate security measures vital.
  • As with any other piece of agricultural machinery, incorrect use or reckless operation can put livestock, property, crops, and people at serious risk. Precision application doesn’t mitigate the potential for improperly used drones to put the wrong substance, in the wrong amount, in the wrong place.
  • Other caveats have to do with what might at first glance seem to be one of the technology’s virtues. Drones may make it possible to gather a huge volume of data about the land’s condition and the crop’s health, but more data isn’t necessarily good data. Too much of it can bring on information overload, lead to wrong conclusions, or end in the dreaded “paralysis of analysis.” Managing information judiciously and analyzing it carefully is key.
  • Given today’s drones’ sophistication, it should come as no surprise that before hitting the field with one, operators will need to spend a fair amount of time hitting the books — and the paperwork. According to the U.S. Ag Drone Directory, domestic drone use in commercial-ag spray jobs requires the operator to have a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, a Section 44807 exemption (if the operator’s drone is over 55 pounds — a common situation with ag-dedicated units), a Part 137 Agricultural Aircraft Operator Certificate, a state pesticide applicator license, FAA aircraft registration, and liability and chemical insurance coverage.
  • Startup expenses can run from over $43,000 to more than $89,000, and, from the filing of permit application paperwork to first flight, it can be three to six months. An operator with all certifications in place and flying multiple drones can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars, but there are no shortcuts to a good payday: operating an ag drone without ticking all the necessary boxes can get you grounded or slapped with a fine of $75,000 per violation from the Federal Aviation Administration.

In the brave new world emerging on the wings and rotors of ag drones, there’s little doubt that new refinements and capabilities will continue to be introduced at a fast pace. However, producing a healthy crop will continue to require of the farmer what farming has always required: sweat, long hours, and dedication. And the most valuable piece of the farmer’s equipment will continue to be located where it has always been found: between the farmer’s ears.

Sources: sprayers101.com; folio3 AgTech; global-agriculture.com; blog.agrifi.tech; the AgroTech Daily; DJI Agriculture; Direct Industry

The information included here was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, SI, and its employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with any training, materials, suggestions, or information provided. It is the user’s responsibility to confirm compliance with any applicable local, state, or federal regulations. Information obtained from or via Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, SI, should not be used as the basis for legal advice and should be confirmed with alternative sources.

7/2026