A large sprayer drone hovers over a crop while a large boom attached to it sends spray downward.

Sask. ag consults on drone spraying licence

Potential changes to provincial regulations would create a licence category should agricultural products be approved for drone spraying

Saskatchewan is considering a licence category that would allow drone operators to spray pesticides.





An agricultural sprayer drone flies over a field.

Crop Production Show 2025: Spray drone research continues

Tom Wolf, a research specialist at Agrimetrix, shared some of the spray drone research he and others in the subject area have done at the Nufarm Information Theatre during the Western Canadian Crop Production Show yesterday. While the use of spray drones for chemical application is still illegal in Canada, research on how to use […] Read more

A spray drone used water to demonstrate the potential of the technology during a Manitoba crop tour this summer.  |  Don Norman photo

Legal drone spraying takes step closer to reality

CFIA says the work that is ongoing to satisfy federal regulatory authorities is moving faster than previously anticipated

The ray of hope might be dim right now, but farmers wanting to legally spray pesticides on their crops using drones may be seeing the first hint of light at the end of the tunnel. Ross Breckels, a senior scientific evaluator with Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), said the process of getting common […] Read more

It’s estimated that Chinese company DJI accounts for more than 50 per cent of all U.S. drone purchases, and members of Congress say their use on American farms poses national security risks.  |  Reuters photo

Chinese-made agriculture drones labelled security risk

U.S. lawmakers ask U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to take action

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) — A dozen Republican U.S. lawmakers have urged president Joe Biden’s administration to address the use of Chinese-manufactured agriculture drones, saying their use on American farms poses national security risks. The House members, including Representatives Elise Stefanik, Ashley Hinson and John Moolenaar, who chairs a select committee on China, wrote letters to […] Read more


Prone to condone drones? Best proceed with caution

Prone to condone drones? Best proceed with caution

Drones are one of the more intriguing new technologies tickling producers’ fancies these days, right up there with driverless farm equipment. There are many potential on-farm applications, such as mapping fields and checking on cattle herds. However, the potential for spraying pesticides is drawing the most attention, and drone demonstrations at the recent Ag in […] Read more

An agricultural drone company takes up some of Milt Olfert’s time since he sold his dairy quota.  |  Photo supplied by Milt Olfert

Farmer transitions from milk to drones and beer

Milt and Tash Olfert leave the dairy business and start two new ventures: one in the air and the other in the brewery

Two years ago, Milt and Tash Olfert decided to sell their dairy cows and quota and leave the dairy business. The southern Manitoba couple ran a dairy until their two children were in their 20s and could decide whether they wanted a farming career. “We could tell when they were in high school the interest […] Read more