Marijuana Business Magazine January 2020

January 2020 | mjbizdaily.com 69 Industrial hemp is still a relatively new industry, so the development of precision applications—or calibrating those already used for traditional row crops such as corn and soybeans—will take time. For now, drones have moved in with solutions for outdoor farmers that are similar to the automation systems cannabis producers are using for indoor production. Derrick Perkins, founder of the Denver-based company The Drone Farmers, is trying to make precision agriculture available for hemp farmers by deploying drones to: • Quantify plant and soil health for improved productivity and crop management. • Seed and spray crop fields. • Perform damage surveys for insurance claims. • Measure comprehensive plant development and provide aerial phenotyping. “Today’s technology provides us the ability to give our data from (the fields) we survey to the farm manager that day, not five days after, so it’s all same-day, actionable data,” Perkins said. “That is a big advancement because pest pressure, for example, can spread rapidly in a five-day period.” The Drone Farmers offers monthly, weekly and full- season crop management packages that include plant disease, weed, pest and water stress analysis, as well as fertilizer and spray applications. “Our sprayers are 2 feet above the plant, so it’s a precision spray and there’s little to no drift loss,” Perkins said. While The Drone Farmers currently works with farmers in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Oklahoma, Perkins said his vision is to build out the company to have at least one fleet of drones ready to serve customers in every state. He plans to launch fleets in at least 10 states in 2020. Drones Offer Precision Application Drones also are being used to apply specialty crop solutions. Parabug, based in Salinas, California, works with vegetable and fruit farmers—and now hemp and outdoor marijuana cultivators—to disperse biological controls, including beneficial and predatory insects in crop fields. Some examples might include Phytoseiulus persimilis or Amblyseius californicus for two spotted spider mite control, Chrysopa carnea (green lacewing) for aphids and thrips, and trichogramma for caterpillar prevention. It’s like crop dusting with airplanes, but on a smaller and more precise scale that delivers the controls more directly where they’re needed, saving farmers time and labor. Parabug founder Chandler Bennett describes the service as an Uber for bugs, because the drones transport the insects directly to the plants. Independent pest control advisers (PCAs) can apply to be licensed drone operators for Parabug to help their clients apply controls. The operators must go through Parabug training and be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, but they own their drones and carry their own insurance. The task comes in through Parabug, which dispatches work to the PCAs, and the company has no exclusivity with biocontrols suppliers, leaving control methods up to the PCAs. Bennett said farmers typically need two or three applications per season, on average, paying Parabug approximately $13.50 to $17 per acre, depending on location, size of the job and other factors. Because biocontrols often cost more than the drone, Bennett said his next step will be to apply variable-rate technology by accessing remote sensing data for more precise applications. “We’re hoping we can make precision maps to where we can do a lower rate parts of the year and then higher rates when it’s needed and then, hopefully from that, further reduce the cost by not using as many biocontrols,” Bennett said. – Laura Drotleff Field Solutions Drones are being used for precision solutions including seeding and spraying crop fields, performing damage surveys and applying biological controls such as beneficial and predatory insects for pest control. Photo Courtesy of Parabug