Farmers’ Perceptions of Agricultural Drones Presented at the Ag Aviation Expo

At the Ag Aviation Expo in Reno last month, Jay Vroom, former President and CEO of CropLife America, and currently a strategic advisor with DCLRS consulting, presented on farmers’ perceptions of agricultural spraying drones. The study highlighted findings from a Stratovation Group research study in partnership with the Ag Retailers Association, The Fertilizer Institute, D.C. Legislative and Regulatory Services (DCLRS) and CropLife America. In addition, the study was sponsored by SweetWater Technologies, the National Corn Growers Association, AgriSpray Drones and Syngenta.

Vroom presented the results of the 2025 survey examining how both drone users and non-users view drones for applications. The survey was completed by 261 large, full-time row crop farmers across the U.S. Of the 261, 101 currently use a drone, while the remaining 160 do not use a drone.

When asked when they plan to purchase a new drone, 53% of current drone users said they would acquire one within the next 35 months. Of those growers using drones, 28% indicated they do not plan on purchasing another drone in the future. From the pool of growers who do not currently use drones, 30% plan on adding a drone to their farming operation within the next 35 months, while 41% do not plan on ever adding a drone to their farm.

Current drone users have a very positive impression of drones – the response asking them to rate their perception of drones on a scale of 1 (very negative) to 10 (very positive) yielded an average rating of 7.99. DJI was the most commonly used brand of drones and the most recognized. When asked to provide the benefits sought by using drones, both drone users and non-users agreed on the following as the top benefits of drones:

  • Access to difficult terrain/topography
  • Timely in-season application
  • Improved spray efficiency
  • Enhanced crop monitoring

When asked about the challenges associated with using drones on their farm, the top concerns from growers who are already using drones are:

  • Limited battery life
  • Learning curve
  • High initial costs
  • Weather dependency
  • Maintenance/durability

Growers who do not use drones also had concerns about the initial costs and learning curve, as well as the lack of need for a drone on their farm.

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