CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — U.S. producers who hope to use drones on their farms are disappointed by what they say are overly restrictive rules proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Two of the long-awaited draft rules were singled out for particular criticism: a requirement that pilots remain in visual contact with their drones at all times and a height restriction that limits the crafts to flying no more than 500 feet above ground.
Farmers and drone operators say these constraints would limit a drone’s range and consequently its usefulness.
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Leading drone makers PrecisionHawk and Trimble Navigation Ltd., farm data services firms such as those run by Monsanto and FarmLogs and federal lawmakers say the proposed rules could delay the development of drone-assisted agriculture in the United States if they are finalized as currently written.
The FAA said farmers can address the line-of-sight limitation by placing spotters to track a drone’s pilot.
Idaho farmer Robert Blair, who in January received the FAA’s first exemption for drone use on a farm, said the new rules would require him to fly 10 separate drone missions to cover his 1,300 acres because he would have to continuously shift locations to keep his drone within sight.
“There’s no way we can cover the ground we need to cover (economically under the proposed rules),” Blair said.
Even so, investors in precision farming say the new rules are friendlier to farmers than they are to Amazon.com Inc. The e-commerce giant, which plans to use drones for package delivery, has indicated it may launch its first drone deliveries in overseas markets rather than wait for broader approvals from the FAA.
“People are looking for where the opportunities are … and agriculture is it,” said Rob Leclerc, chief executive officer of AgFunder, an online platform for investors in agricultural technology.
Many agricultural drones will initially be used to identify trouble spots in fields or snap high-definition images of crops for plant health analysis. These jobs are suited for the small, 55 pound and lighter drones that are allowed under the proposed rules. Drones can also be used to gather evidence for crop insurance claims.
For some farmers, the new rules will provide FAA validation for practices they already use.
Despite a current ban on most commercial drone uses, classes teaching farmers how to use the unmanned aircrafts have flourished at rural colleges, and a bevy of YouTube videos stands as evidence that some farmers have already begun piloting them.
Still, it could take two years before the new FAA rules take full effect. Such delays could strain cash-strapped startups, which could be out of business before the market booms, say industry analysts.
Companies that have invested in drone technology are already feeling strains.
“It’s been difficult for us,” said Jim Kirkland, general counsel and vice-president of equipment maker Trimble Navigation Ltd., which received an FAA exemption from the ban on commercial drone use in December and has made a series of acquisitions aimed at beefing up its technology.
“We bought this business several years ago and we fly these elsewhere in the world,” Kirkland said.
“And certainly we haven’t gotten the revenue out of it that we could if rules had been in place.”
The delay is also providing opportunities for competing technologies such as micro-satellite, to take root.Larger competitors will likely have absorbed upstarts by the time comprehensive rules are in place and be positioned to dominate the market, some industry experts say.
Pravia LLC of Florida received an FAA exemption this month to fly drones over 10 crop test sites in seven states operated by Syngenta. As well, Monsanto’s Climate Corp. has applied for an FAA exemption to use drones commercially.
