Drones for VM: What’s now, and what’s next

Few innovations in vegetation management (VM) have the potential impact of drone application. Lower overall VM expenses, reduced labor requirements, increased coverage and more-targeted applications are all possible when drones fly into the picture. But drones aren’t without their own concerns. Confusing and changing regulations, a complicated and expensive licensing process, and the sheer cost of the drone itself might give some contractors and vegetation managers second thoughts. Get past that, however, and the advantages become clear.

“Drone usage has increased dramatically over the past 3 years,” said Jerome Otto, market development specialist with Corteva Agriscience. “As their capacity and accuracy has increased, applicators have found that drones can get to sites that may be costly, time-consuming, even dangerous for applicators with backpacks or ATVs.”

Dam faces, steep canyons or hillsides, remote corners of a service area — they’re all reachable by drone and, in many instances, at a lower cost than by a human applicator.

“Drone applications, in many cases, are more cost-effective on a per-acre or per-mile basis than sending in backpack applicators or ATVs,” Otto said. “In addition, one of the biggest challenges facing vegetation managers today is hiring, training and retaining qualified applicators; a drone may not replace an applicator, but it can definitely increase the productivity of the vegetation management crew.”

Gaming gives one drone operator a head start

For California-based drone operator and applicator Ben Jacques of Sierra Integrated Services (SIS), operating a spray drone is a natural extension of a pastime that started in childhood and continues to this day.

“I’ve played video games since I was a kid,” Jacques said. “The controls for a drone are really similar, so flying a drone feels very familiar to me.”

Jacques discovered an enthusiasm for vegetation management after a stint as a contract project manager with Pacific Gas & Electric. In 2022, a friend and colleague with SIS reached out to mention the company was starting a drone-based operation and asked if Jacques would like to be involved. After obtaining the appropriate certifications from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Federal Aviation Administration, Jacques and SIS were good to go.

“Our main clients right now are utilities, water storage and conveyance providers, and municipalities,” Jacques said. “We do a lot of different work for them, everything from fire prevention and mitigation to habitat restoration. For one of the restoration projects we’re working on now, we’re trying to open up habitat for threatened and endangered species, and we’re using herbicides in that environment where they typically haven’t been used. We’re excited to be able to bring drone technology in for work of this nature.”

Having the ability to use and offer drone applications helped expand SIS’ portfolio of services and helped its clients tackle tough VM projects — projects that may otherwise have been nearly impossible to execute or that may have put applicators into risky or dangerous environments.

“We’re using drones to address some of the challenges of making backpack applications,” Jacques said. “The drones allow us to get into some of those hard-to-reach spots without having applicators hiking over steeps hillsides, so they’ve really helped us be more effective and more efficient.”

Details, licensing critical to drone application efficacy and compliance

And while spray drones are helping vegetation managers and contractors operate in difficult environments, there are limitations; maximum spray tank capacities are, at least as of this moment, around 25 gallons, meaning every drop of solution needs to hit a target.

“We’re using less carrier,” Jacques said, “so, over a given area, we’re putting down less solution. That means the ‘less’ has to be more effective, so we make sure the water’s conditioned right, we’re using the right adjuvants and we’re following the mixing directions on the label. Plus, we’re batch-mixing our spray solution as opposed to mixing in the spray tank. It all helps.”

In addition, proper training and licensing are absolute necessities, both for maximum application effectiveness and compliance with state and federal laws. Utilities and other entities considering hiring drone applicators need to be aware of current licensing requirements and shouldn’t be shy about asking for verification.

“First, you need to make sure the applicator is registered with the FAA,” Jacques says. “That’s going to require an FAA Part 107 certification, so the operator can fly the drone commercially, and a Part 137 certification for agricultural aircraft.”

Potential drone customers should also make sure their contractors have all the appropriate state licensing. And if the contractor is new to the business or is a new vendor, customers should treat it like any other new business relationship: Ask for references and check with their state Better Business Bureau.

Drones for VM: The technology of tomorrow

Jacques is bullish on the future of drones, especially considering the speed with which artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies are advancing.

“Eventually, the goal would be to integrate those technologies into the drone itself, so it can go out, identify target species and operate in kind of a ‘seek and spray’ mode,” Jacques said. “We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer. What we use today is not what we’ll be using in 10 years; at some point, we may be able to just set up a drone and let it run without much if any human input. It’s interesting stuff, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!”