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21st Century Crop Dusting: FAA Approves Large Drone Use On Farms
CBS SF Bay Area ^ | 5/5/2015 | Staff

Posted on 06/22/2015 6:52:54 PM PDT by Jan_Sobieski

FRESNO (CBS/AP) — A drone large enough to carry tanks of fertilizers and pesticides has won rare approval from federal authorities to spray crops in the United States.

Steve Markofski of Yamaha Corp. U.S.A. said Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval is a first. He says drones are already used to take pictures to help farmers identify unhealthy patches of crops, but this is the first time they’ll be able to carry a payload.

Markofski says Yamaha’s 207-pound (94-kilogram) RMAX looks like a small helicopter and is remotely piloted. It received FAA approval Friday. Markofski says farmers in Japan and other countries have used the large drone for years.

University of California, Davis, professor Ken Giles says it’s best suited for precision spraying on California’s rolling vineyards and hard-to-reach places.

(Excerpt) Read more at sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: crops; dusting; farm; fertilization
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1 posted on 06/22/2015 6:52:55 PM PDT by Jan_Sobieski
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Swell. So for those of us who are chemically intolerant, more chemicals!
Awesome…not!


2 posted on 06/22/2015 6:56:13 PM PDT by acapesket
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To: Jan_Sobieski

These have been used in Japan for a while. You transport them to the field on a truck, set in the coordinates of the field, service the sprayer, and set it to work. I would imagine there is a point at which large fields make conventional ag spraying more efficient. In Japan most of the fields are small, so this makes more sense.


3 posted on 06/22/2015 6:56:46 PM PDT by USNBandit (sarcasm engaged at all times)
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To: Jan_Sobieski

...what could go wrong?


4 posted on 06/22/2015 6:56:47 PM PDT by castlebrew (Gun Control means hitting where you're aiming!))
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To: Jan_Sobieski

WIRE detection...??

I see a lot of smoking holes.


5 posted on 06/22/2015 7:00:07 PM PDT by gaijin
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: acapesket

This is a proven technology.

Nothing can go wrong... go wrong... go wrong... go wrong...


7 posted on 06/22/2015 7:01:45 PM PDT by Iron Munro (We may be paranoid but that doesn't mean they aren't really after us)
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To: acapesket
Name anything that isn't a chemical. Anything.

/johnny

8 posted on 06/22/2015 7:02:48 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (gone Galt)
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To: Iron Munro

One less pilot......


9 posted on 06/22/2015 7:03:09 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: JRandomFreeper

Well played.


10 posted on 06/22/2015 7:06:17 PM PDT by Lurker (Violence is rarely the answer. But when it is it is the only answer.)
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To: Jan_Sobieski

-— it’s best suited for precision spraying on California’s rolling vineyards and hard-to-reach places. -—

Cool!


11 posted on 06/22/2015 7:09:06 PM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas ( Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
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To: JRandomFreeper

> Name anything that isn’t a chemical. Anything.

Intellectual property. ;-)


12 posted on 06/22/2015 7:10:23 PM PDT by glorgau
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To: Jan_Sobieski

"First it was the aliens violating me and now it's drones putting me out of work"!
13 posted on 06/22/2015 7:13:26 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: glorgau
That's about it. ;)

/johnny

14 posted on 06/22/2015 7:13:59 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper

Sound?


15 posted on 06/22/2015 7:14:40 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: Rebelbase
But nothing material.

/johnny

16 posted on 06/22/2015 7:16:25 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (gone Galt)
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To: Jan_Sobieski

You would think these nimrod media types would show a picture of a drone instead of farmers walking in a field. Truly bad editing.


17 posted on 06/22/2015 7:16:50 PM PDT by miele man
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To: JRandomFreeper

I worked for a Chemical Distributor for years.

What’s your issue?

Ethylene Glycol?, Methyl Ethyl Ketone? Isopropanol 99? Dibutyl Ether? Methanol?

These are the tame ones.


18 posted on 06/22/2015 7:21:30 PM PDT by acapesket
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To: Jan_Sobieski

My brother is a helicopter pilot and crop duster. Only way he’s making a living rigbt now.


19 posted on 06/22/2015 7:21:48 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear
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To: JRandomFreeper
Name anything that isn't a chemical. Anything.

Electromagnetism, gravity.... hope.

[I know what you meant, and you are correct]

20 posted on 06/22/2015 7:22:41 PM PDT by Bobalu (If we live to see 2017 we will be kissing the ground)
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