Spray drone technology gains ground at Ag in Motion

Agricultural spray drones are drawing attention at Ag in Motion in Langham this year, after the federal government recently approved a new use of the technology.

On June 30, Health Canada introduced a new policy, which allows drone technology to be used to apply pesticides that are already approved for conventional aerial application.

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Manitoba-based company Green Aero Tech was one of the drone distributors at the trade show showcasing how the technology works for producers.

Chief technology officer and co-founder, Warren Genik, said spray drones have been used globally for many years and have proven to be effective in different markets.

Previously, Genik said there have been relatively small models that worked well on smaller farms, but were not suited for larger Canadian prairie farms.

He said that has changed over generations as drones have greatly increased in size.

“We’ve been recognizing that trend, and that’s really why we decided to get involved,”  he said about the agricultural drone industry.

Genik said Green Aero Tech had been preparing for federal changes to drone and pesticide use, so the company could “hit the ground running once” the regulations came into effect.

While the company has sold spray drones for use in jobs like dry granular spreading, Genik said there has been more interest in drones for pesticide use.

Genik said spray drones can apply products to crops even when fields are too wet for traditional ground sprayers.

He also noted that spray drones can avoid issues such as getting stuck in muddy fields, creating ruts and damaging crops with tire tracks.

“That can be quite a percentage of return for a farmer by just eliminating the compaction on his field, and that’s just one of the many uses,” he said.

Genik said the spray drone itself costs around $48,000.

Producers using spray drones still need to consider weather conditions and must make responsible decisions to prevent pesticide drift onto nearby crops that are not intended to be treated, Genik said.

Producers looking to use spray drones must also follow the licensing requirements from Transport Canada.

“It’s not as simple as just go buy it and fly it. You do need to take the time to do some training,” Genik said.

“It is a process that you want to follow through and do it correctly, so you can have safe and successful missions.”

Genik said spray drones are fairly labour intensive as producers have to change batteries, move them across trailers and refill them. He said he believes the industry can improve in the coming years by automating some of these tasks.

“That’s where Saskatchewan farmers or Prairie farmers really get to show their innovation on how they want to set up their trailers to properly service and support these drones,” he said.

Read more:

• B.C. crews use drone in controlled burn during wildfire fight, in Canadian first
• Ottawa to create facility for military drone research in Quebec
• Saskatchewan to test out technology that detects drones smuggling drugs into prisons