Kathy Graul, Farm Industry News

2015 and 2016 could be when drones really start to take off in agriculture. At least that’s what a lot of those active in the drone community have been saying.

“There is a lot of excitement around the world about this technology in agriculture use and for good reason,” says Chad Colby, a UAS consultant who’s become widely known in agriculture circles through his talks at UAS conferences around the country. “I’ve witnessed so many changes over the past three years,” he says. “Today, we are moving toward the fact that these will be another tool in the farmer’s toolbox.”

So just what are those major changes that have caused a lot of moving and shaking in agriculture and from the FAA in the past couple years? Here’s a timeline to help you get caught up:

February 2012: FAA Modernization and Reform Act

This put into motion a requirement that FAA would address a safe integration of UAS through a five-year roadmap.

November 2013: Roadmap announced

The roadmap is released for integrating UAS into the nation’s airspace, ensuring FAA supports widespread use of UAS, with a goal of establishing requirements for operators.

December 2013: Test sites announced

FAA announces that six states win the bid for official UAS testing sites. The sites allow for testing of UAS in controlled environments to gather data on how different UAVs perform. The states where testing is taking place include Virginia, Nevada, Texas, New York, Alaska and North Dakota.

February 2015: Small UAS (sUAS) rules, comment period

FAA proposes regulations that would allow for regular use of sUAS (under 55 lbs), including safety rules for non-recreational operations. Commenting closed in April 2015. This move is significant for agriculture because most UAVs used for ag fall in the sUAS category. Comments are still being reviewed, and FAA says it will publish its official rules by June 17, 2016.

May 2015: FAA expands sUAS horizons

FAA announces partnerships through its Pathfinder Initiative to explore the next steps for UAS operation beyond what was proposed for sUAS in February.  Most important to agriculture is the extended visual line-of-sight operations testing that will be done in rural areas. UAV maker PrecisionHawk is announced as a partner. Thomas Haun, PrecisionHawk VP of strategy, said through the partnership they want to push the proposed rules to allow users to operate beyond line of sight. “We believe this will unlock significant value in ag – keeping the UAV in the air for a significant time would create tremendous amount of value,” he says.