Value of Drones in Agriculture Being Studied

The American Farm Bureau Federation and Measure released a study that identifies and quantifies the benefits of drone technology in precision agriculture. Version 1.0 of the ROI Calculator will be available as a web-based application on the Measure website in the coming weeks; additional functionality will be added over time to include more drone applications and types of crops. There is no other tool like this available to farmers looking to drones to increase yields or save money.

The ROI Calculator quantifies the economic benefits of Drone as a Service for three applications: field crop scouting, 3D terrain mapping, and crop insurance. It initially covers three of the largest production crops-corn, wheat, and soybeans-allowing growers to quickly and easily determine if drone technology warrants further exploration after they input information about their farm into the ROI Calculator.

For example, the findings show that for the average U.S. farmer using Drone as a Service to enhance crop scouting, ROI is $12 per acre for corn, $2.60 per acre for soybeans, and $2.30 per acre for wheat.

“While lots of drone hardware has been sold to farmers, until today no tool existed to help growers actually quantify whether the benefits exceed their costs, especially when farmers want to outsource these types of services.

Working with the Farm Bureau and our partners, we have created the only ROI Calculator for drone use in precision agriculture,” said Justin P. Oberman, President of Measure. “This tool will help growers understand how drone technology can improve their performance for the benefit of consumers in the U.S. and around the world.”

“This study and the ROI Calculator will help make drones a reality for farmers and ranchers,” said Julie Anna Potts, Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the American Farm Bureau. “Every year we must feed more people on the same fields while protecting the environment we all share. Precision agriculture and drones in particular will be an important part of executing on that mission.”

The study is a result of coordinated efforts from a number of sources. Principal sponsors of the study are the American Farm Bureau Federation, GeoSilos, Lockheed Martin, and PepsiCo.