Ag drones challenge federal regulators

Dust swirled as the 83-pound drone launched from a clearing near a Nebraska cornfield. With its four propellers humming, Paige Browning used a handheld controller to move the drone across the field, spraying a mist of fungicide on crops below. “You think in your head it’s going to be fun — cool job, right?” said Browning, a Nebraska rancher who started flying agricultural drones two years ago with her father and uncle. “But when you get into the nitty gritty and actually doing it, it’s a very dirty job.” Browning is one of around 1,000 pilots authorized to fly agricultural drones in the U.S., according to a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration. Around 85% of those pilots were approved last year. Agricultural drones cost between $30,000 and $50,000 but are cheaper than traditional crop-dusting airplanes. The drones also spread chemicals and seeds more efficiently by getting closer to the ground, especially around hilly terrain, telephone poles and oddly shaped fields

Ag drones challenge federal regulators
Dust swirled as the 83-pound drone launched from a clearing near a Nebraska cornfield. With its four propellers humming, Paige Browning used a handheld controller to move the drone across the field, spraying a mist of fungicide on crops below. “You think in your head it’s going to be fun — cool job, right?” said Browning, a Nebraska rancher who started flying agricultural drones two years ago with her father and uncle. “But when you get into the nitty gritty and actually doing it, it’s a very dirty job.” Browning is one of around 1,000 pilots authorized to fly agricultural drones in the U.S., according to a spokesperson with the Federal Aviation Administration. Around 85% of those pilots were approved last year. Agricultural drones cost between $30,000 and $50,000 but are cheaper than traditional crop-dusting airplanes. The drones also spread chemicals and seeds more efficiently by getting closer to the ground, especially around hilly terrain, telephone poles and oddly shaped fields