8 underserviced areas, it seems like a nobrainer for someone to purchase one for their own cover crops and to be hired out for custom application by their neighbours. You just need to have a dedicated person who will make sure it's running and not sitting in the corner of the garage most of the year." McLagan says her drone (and four batteries) cost $3,500 and paid for itself within two years, and the $800 yearly subscription pays for itself many times over every year. This payback comes from direct interventions in crop management that lead to better yields but also in what she calls 'knowledge profit.' This refers to how the drone system allows farmers to build their knowledge base of many things, from variety and hybrid performance to specific field problems, best planting dates and more, giving insight for future decision making. Imran believes a revolution in drone use has already started, partially because drones will become more and more autonomous each year. Their uses in farming are sure to expand as well, which will further drive adoption. If spraying crop protection products by drone does become legal, Doelman says she sees "a great deal of opportunity" for this use in rural and remote areas. "Suddenly, you don't need to have to worry about road width, fence lines, or even accessing staff who can operate a big sprayer or the heavy trucks or tractors needed," she says. Doelman is also curious to see if drones will be of use to deter wildlife from damaging crops, including crows and other birds, bears, deer, and wild pigs. l OSCIA'S MOBILE SOIL TECHNOLOGY SUITE GAVE THE ONFARM EVENT ATTENDEES A FIRST-PERSON VIEW OF THE DRONE IN ACTION. PHOTO COURTESY OF OSCIA. continued from page 6 adoption. "I think many farmers will underestimate the learning curve to operating the drone and being able to build in the proper habits on how it's used," she says. This challenge is why Fiza Drones is developing an autonomous, high-speed drone system where the farmer only needs to choose flight objectives within the accompanying smartphone app. The drone takes care of gathering the data and providing the analysis. As with any technology, the return on investment for drones depends on many factors, from the extent and types of use, individual farm parameters, how results are used, and more. "For smaller acreage farms that have higher value crops, drone use might make a lot of sense," says Doelman. "For newer farmers that can't afford a sprayer or farmers in
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