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FAA prevents ag drones from taking off


Federal regulatory inertia on the commerical use of unmanned aerial vehicles could stiffle innovation as farmers and entrepreneurs find ways to use drones in agriculture.

The Wright Brothers became the first to fly a fixed-wing, powered aircraft on Dec. 17, 1903.

Their short flight on the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C., changed the world, and inspired a generation of innovators and entrepreneurs who improved the machine and invented uses Orville and Wilbur had not dreamed.

Lucky for the Wrights and other aviation pioneers, federal regulation of the industry didn't come until 1926, long after viable aircraft had been developed and their commercial applications had been established.

Sadly, those trying to realize the commercial potential of unmanned aerial vehicles - drones - in agriculture and other industries aren't as lucky.

Developers had long been working on non-lethal applications for UAVs when Americans generally became aware of drones through their use in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Armed with the proper instrumentation, drones can complete any number of objectives. They have been used in search-and-rescue missions, to film movies, to follow migrating whales and monitor forest fires. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos told "60 Minutes" that his company is working on delivering products with UAVs, and a lakeside tavern in Wisconsin recently used a drone to deliver beer to nearby ice fishing shacks.

UAVs have tremendous potential in agriculture. Among other things, they can be used to monitor crops, take soil samples and other measurements, and help growers make decisions about seeding, chemical applications and irrigation.

Simple drones equipped with cameras and other unsophisticated instruments are available at hobby shops for a few hundred dollars. Commercial models adapted for more sophisticated uses are in production and can costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But the innovators and entrepreneurs quickly flew afoul of the Federal Aviation Administration.

It says any commercial use - liberally defined as any use intended to further a for-profit goal - is illegal because it hasn't yet formulated the controlling regulations.