WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Farmers who use drones to scout their fields or spray their crops shouldn’t be impacted immediately by a ban announced in December by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to Adam Shanks, of Purdue University Extension.

The FCC’s order bans new foreign-made drones from being sold in the U.S. The order also bans critical components produced abroad for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS).

Shanks, digital agriculture and natural resources curriculum lead at Purdue, said the immediate impact of the ban will be minimal. All drones that are currently being sold or used may continue to be used, he said.

“What has changed? The FCC will not grant licenses for foreign-made drones going forward,” Shanks told Farm World. “That approval is required for the use of the radio frequency between the remote controller and the drone in the air. The current approved ‘Blue List’ drones are exempt and will continue to receive approval for new models.

“Domestically produced drones that contain at least 65 percent domestically produced parts are also exempt until 2027. The challenge for greater than 65 percent domestically produced parts is due to the lack of domestically produced microchips, technology components and processors in needed quantities.”

Drones on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Blue List have been vetted to be compliant with agency policy, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Precision tools, including drones, are essential for today’s farmers to manage costs, monitor crops and operate efficiently, the American Soybean Association said in December.

“Soybean farmers depend on modern technology to stay competitive, efficient and sustainable,” Scott Metzger, the organization’s president, said in a release. “While we recognize the importance of addressing national security concerns, it’s critical that policymakers fully consider the real-world impacts these decisions can have on farmers who rely on these tools every day.

“Taking proven technology out of farmers’ toolboxes without workable alternatives only adds cost and uncertainty at a time when farmers can least afford it.”

In its Dec. 22 order, the FCC said, the ban was enacted “based on a national security determination made by an executive branch interagency body with appropriate national security expertise, including appropriate national security agencies.”

According to the FCC notice, producing drones and their components in the United States will reduce the risk of direct UAS attacks and disruptions, unauthorized surveillance, sensitive data exfiltration and other UAS threats to the homeland.

Shanks said the continued use of foreign-made drones is going to be business as usual for the near term. Once that technology ages and is no longer supported for firmware updates or service parts availability, that’s when farmers and others will have to look at other options, he noted. For scouting, Shanks said people will continue to be able to purchase the Blue List-approved drones.

He said there’s a real push for companies and universities to be building and testing domestic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This is emphasized, Shanks said, by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s development of a drone task force to lead the way in developing and testing this technology in the state.

“The best case scenario is that by the time the current technology is no longer operational, there will be equaled domestic technology available,” he explained. “I recently visited a farm show and was overwhelmed by the number of spray drone prototypes and models that are being developed and tested to meet and exceed that 65 percent domestic threshold to be that industry leader for that market.

“It was quite impressive to see how motivated some very intelligent and entrepreneurial people jumped in to try to be the first one to the market with a domestically produced machine.”

Some farmers are interested in UAV technology and enjoy collecting and using the data, Shanks said. Most, however, are having their acres flown as a service provided by agronomist and crop scouts, he said. Camera drones are not a large investment – prices can start around $1,500 for a good drone and go up to several thousand dollars, depending on the type of data a farmer wants to collect, he said.

Most producers that fly, and collect the data themselves, own their drones, Shanks pointed out.

Farmers should take into account such things as cost, service and repairs when considering the purchase of a drone versus renting, he said.

Shanks said he couldn’t make brand recommendations, but said there are still many makes and models available for purchase that provide several acres of service without any ban issues.

“Choosing what make, model and platform to purchase depends greatly on the applicator’s needs,” he said. “I would recommend seeing a demonstration of all of them to see what operation platform is on the controller, what type of connection is used for drone/controller communication, and what after-the-sale service is available before deciding what to purchase.”

As a representative of Purdue, Shanks said it’s his role to supply unbiased and research-based information.

“That being said, there has not been any proof shared publicly that the technology we are using is providing any information to foreign entities. Many satellites obit the planet collecting data every day. There is nothing that we could collect with a camera on a drone that someone couldn’t see by accessing satellite imagery data.”