To get to be a farmer, Brian Martin first has to be a decider.

A 10-field, 5-state study revealed that using CoreScan and the Veris data processing system, has the potential to remove the most significant errors of conventional sampling and showed a 35% improvement in phosphorus recommendations.

A story out of Florida, where a large drone dealer can no longer fly drones over 55 pounds after multiple alleged FAA violations. FAA officials showed up at a training session hosted by the dealer and learned the pilot in command allegedly didn’t have registration for the drone, and he was flying it too close to a non-participating farmer.

Recent digital technology improvements have spawned the ability to scan entire fields quickly and inexpensively with drone flights, then provide maps identifying specific weeds and their locations — all in about 12 hours.

Tyler Troiola used John Deere See & Spray Premium for the first time. The retrofit kit uses 36 cameras and machine learning to selectively target spray weeds. Troiola used it on corn at 10 inches, 14 inches and 18 inches. When corn was 10 inches tall, he says See & Spray only sprayed about 18% of the field, which adds up to over 80% in herbicide savings. It went down to about 70% savings on 14-inch-tall corn, and 60% savings on 18-inch-tall corn.

There’s new smart spray technology from precision ag startup Sentera that could lower herbicide usage by up to 70%. It’s called Aerial WeedScout. It uses aerial imaging from a drone and artificial intelligence to detect weeds. Then it creates prescriptions within 24 hours that can be executed through any precision sprayer. Sentera CTO Eric Taipale explains what separates Aerial WeedScout from other precision spraying options on the market.