New Rules Could Lead to Many More Drones Down on the Farm

Published February 18, 2015 at 7:45 PM CST

Many farmers hope to use flying drones to scout their fields and identify problem areas, but commercial drone use is currently banned. (Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media)

Farmers want to use drones to get a birds-eye view of their fields, to find problem patches with crops or even check in on sick cattle. Commercial use of drones is still widely banned in the U.S. But regulators recently released a draft of new rules. If they’re approved, they could lead to an explosion in the use of drones on farms. Harvest Public Media’s Luke Runyon reports.

Harvest Public Media is a consortium of public radio and TV stations in the Midwest, partnering together to cover agriculture, from farms to food to fuel.