We might not be driving Jetson-envisioned flying cars yet, but in the past five years unmanned aerial systems, or drones, have merged from futuristic novelties into farm equipment. This crop season will bring swarms of drones that spray and seed cover crops – with a future as limitless as the horizon.

Nick Williams of Parkston, S.D., launched Williams Drones last June and is looking forward to starting his first full summer work season. He purchased a swarm of three drones with spraying and spreading kits through a contract partnership with Rantizo, a turnkey agricultural drone service provide based out of Iowa City, Iowa, that provides everything, from hardware and software to training and licensing support, insurance and even customer leads. (…)

Read More