PRECISION AGRICULTURE NEWS

Getting crop protection products applied to the acres that need it in a timely manner is a critical aspect of ensuring that crops don’t succumb to disease, weed, or insect pressure. Rantizo is leveraging advancements in UAV technology and driving regulatory progress to offer UAV spraying options to growers.

Sam Pendleton, Director of Sales for Rantizo, joins this episode of the FarmBits podcast to provide an overview of Rantizo’s model and technology. In this episode, Sam shares Rantizo’s approach, provides an overview of flight missions conducted with Rantizo’s technology, discusses how Rantizo is leveraging data to inform spot-spraying, and offers insights into the future of UAV-based spraying. (…)

To most people — even many farmers — the idea of tending crops hardly brings to mind a drone rising into the air, carrying a tank full of pesticides and navigating by pre-programmed map. Yet, when Michael Ott markets to agricultural retailers, that’s exactly his sales pitch: an unmanned aircraft that will spray whatever you need, wherever you need it. (…)

While strict rules are often seen as holding back technological advances, in the case of spray application drones they have had the opposite effect. The introduction of remote pilot licenses, qualifications and other certifications has seen the market rapidly expand in countries where they are being implemented and operators see the benefits these can bring. (…)

While use of spray application drones has grown exponentially across the globe in the past two years, this has largely been the result of the introduction of proper rules and regulations governing their use. Both the USA and China, probably now the two largest markets, have strict regulations governing spray applications from drones. (…)

A heavy downpour would be a disaster for most field days. But the muddy mess was the perfect opportunity for Michael Ott, the CEO of Rantizo, to show off how a new system of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) work together to spray pesticides and seed crops.

“If you needed to spray today, you couldn’t with a ground rig,” said Ott, during a media day at the company proving grounds near Iowa City, Iowa. “But our drone systems can do it. People are realizing a drone can treat areas that tractors or self-propelled sprayers are not suitable for.” (…)

The successes of the initial drone usage in Chinese rice paddies are capturing the attention of other global farmers and creating new opportunities for Bayer to enable growers to use drones to enhance ag processes around the world.

In late 2020, Bayer additionally took a major step to introduce this pioneering drone technology to farmers throughout the U.S. by forming a strategic partnership with Rantizo – a software and applications developer whose platform integrates with drones to identify crop protection issues and deliver precise in-field crop input applications. (…)

As she pushed a button to bring the eight-propeller drone back to the ground, dandelion fluff swirling in the air, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst joked that she was ready for a job as a commercial fertilizer applicator.

“Do you have a contract you need to fulfill?” she asked Michael Ott, chief executive officer and founder of Rantizo, an agricultural drone company based in Iowa City. (…)

With the rise of precision agriculture solutions, the farming industry has become increasingly tech savvy. Many growers and producers have embraced GPS-enabled tractors, variable-rate fertilizer applications, and smart platforms that monitor everything from pest populations to yield performance.

Now, the latest drone technologies are improving another common farming task: fungicide applications. Drone systems company Rantizo is leading the charge. The company sells a turnkey system optimized for drone spraying and other applications that include autonomous drones, supporting equipment, and licensing and technical support. They work with a network of application services contractors and agribusinesses to supply them with everything needed to provide services such as variable applications of fungicides to growers. (…)

Optimism is a powerful force in agriculture. And thanks to a strong 2020 cropping season, solid grain demand from trading partners over the winter and spring, and a pandemic that appears to be receding nationwide, a long-overdue sense of positivity about the future has lifted a stubborn cloud of doubt and hesitancy that’s held back investment in technology innovation.

As CropLife magazine continues work in the inaugural Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo coming up this July in Des Moines, IA, we’re keeping track of the technology trends, products, and companies making moves that will impact retail business through the 2021 season and beyond. In this feature we will touch on some of the key storylines we’re watching through the spring and summer. (…)