URBANA, Ill. — With the threat of tariffs on overseas products looming, more Americans are purchasing drones for commercial and first responder use than ever before. The “Drones for First Responders Act” (HR 8416) currently before the House Subcommittee on Trade, proposes steep new tariffs on Chinese-made drones, starting at 30 percent and rising. It also reportedly creates federal grant programs to help farmers, first responders and infrastructure operators transition to secure, domestically produced drone technology.

To help farmers who may be interested in keeping an eye on their crops and cattle with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, University of Illinois Farm Business Management and Marketing Educator Kevin Brooks issued a news release offering several tips to help farmers carry out tasks efficiently and effectively after proper preparation. 

Brooks’ tips for farmers before going into the field with a drone include:

• Ensure you are FAA-certified (Federal Aviation Administration). To scout or complete any farm business purposes, the pilot must have acquired FAA Part 107 certification. The certification is valid for two years and is easy to renew.

• If your drone has no controller with a built-in flight screen, use an approved device such as an iPad instead of your phone. The larger screen will be much easier to see on bright and sunny days.

• Verify with your insurance professional that your farm has adequate insurance for mishaps caused by drone operations.

• Plan your scouting flights before going to the field to anticipate needs and potential problems with the drone and the growing crops. Use your sectional maps, apps, and FAA information (NOTAM Notice to Airmen) to check for restrictions or warnings. Record your search in your flight log. Many farm tracts are near airports and military operations areas. Apply for flight restriction clearances in advance where you have good data signals.

• Update your drone, device (cell phone or iPad) and controller per the manufacturer’s instructions to prevent flight delays at the field.

In addition, Brooks issued tips for farmers taking drones to the field. They include:

• Record the weather, locations, challenges, and other details in your flight log. Use your weather app to record wind speed and gusts, cloud coverage, and cloud ceilings, and check for flight restrictions that might come up in advance at the office. If you have an accident, proving you acted responsibly is essential.

• Determine if you need to avoid obstacles on your flight controller. Drone obstacle avoidance features are perfect for safety. However, some drones have been known to avoid a huge orange ball in the sky known as the sun, which can disrupt your flight.

• Check for other aircraft, such as aerial sprayers, drones, and machinery in the field or nearby fields. Military operations areas exist in Illinois and so be aware. As a drone pilot, you may need to receive permission to fly above fields located in these areas.

“There are many other considerations when making your first scout flight of the year or even other flights as the growing season progresses. As drone pilots, getting complacent and skipping over essential details is easy. Problems and collisions can and do occur, but careful planning helps to avoid these situations,” said Brooks. “If you are fully prepared for your flight, field scouting with drones can be very beneficial to your farm operation.” 

In a followup to the news release, Brooks explained to Farm World readers that anything one is doing with a drone on a farm that is for farm purposes requires a Part 107 Commercial Drone Pilot Certification. “Take the time (such as a course) to learn what you need to know about Part 107 Certification. The certification exam would be hard to pass for most people without taking a good class. The exam I am told covers over half or more of what the written part of a basic pilot’s exam (not remote, you are going to actually be flying),” he said, in an email. 

Brooks went on to highlight the common mistakes new agricultural drone operators might typically make:

• Not being fully aware of legalities and flying in violation. The fines can be very steep.

• Not fully going through what you will need or need to do prior to leaving the office. In other words, not having a plan.

• No doing recent and nearby calibrations

• Software updates for your drone, controller, and device.

• Being in a hurry, not emotionally engaged.

By the end of 2024 around 400,000 DJI agricultural drones were in use globally, according to DJI Agriculture’s fourth annual Agricultural Drone Industry Insight Report, unveiled at Brazil’s Agrishow 2025 a few weeks ago. This represents a 90 percent increase in global agricultural drone usage since 2020.

Prices for agricultural drones are dropping, making them more affordable for farmers. DJI’s Agras MG-1 crop spraying drone, for example, fell from around $15,000 to $5,000 in just a couple of years. Connectivity and infrastructure limitations, however, remain impediments to the widespread adaption of precision agriculture and drone usage, according to the DJI white paper.

To read Brooks’ entire article, visit extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/how-prepare-field-scout-your-farm-drone.