{"id":824200,"date":"2026-07-25T00:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T00:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/824200\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T00:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T00:32:12","slug":"farmers-interest-in-pesticide-spraying-drones-surges-after-regulation-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/824200\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmers’ interest in pesticide-spraying drones surges after regulation change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Last year, salesman Ryan Crumly predicted farmers would rush to adopt drone technology once it became legal to use them to spray insecticides and fungicides on crops.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He may have been right.<\/p>\n

At the end of June, Health Canada lifted its restrictions to allow drones to spray approved pesticides. That change “opened the floodgates” for farmers seeking the tech, said Crumly, who works for Titan Aero Drones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“My phone has never been so busy,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We probably had close to 80 drones and they sold out in a matter of days.”<\/p>\n

Farmers and drone dealers welcome the policy change, saying the flying machines can be more effective than ground sprayers and planes. The uptake on pesticide-spraying drones is expected to be significant, with several farmers saying they’re looking to buy one in the coming years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo attendees of the Ag In Motion convention watch a demonstration of a spray drone on July 22, 2026 in Langham, Sask. (Maia Tustonic\/CBC)’You’re just a babysitter’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pesticide-spraying drones are touted as a new technology with a slew of benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For one thing, they beat planes and helicopters because those can only fly during the day and can’t get close to trees or powerlines, Crumly said.<\/p>\n

This year, he also heard from farmers who were particularly interested in a drone because flooding meant their ground sprayers were getting stuck in the mud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

LISTEN | Drones take on multiple farming tasks:<\/p>\n

Saskatoon Morning8:37U of S professor discusses agriculture project using drones, satellite imagery and AI<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence is being used by pretty much every industry and agriculture is no exception.\u00a0Many new high-tech advancements will be highlighted at Ag in Motion. That’s Western Canada\u2019s largest farm expo happening just 15 minutes northwest of Saskatoon in Langham. Professor Steve Shirtliffe spoke with Saskatoon Morning host Candice Lipski.<\/p>\n

They’re also easy to use, Crumly said. Farmers can map out where and how they want the drone to spray, and the machine will fly largely autonomously.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“You’re just a babysitter that changes batteries and fills the tank,” Crumly said.<\/p>\n

Greg Hill, who runs a farm and ranch in southeast Saskatchewan, said he foresees drones having a “really big impact” in agriculture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheRyan Crumly, a salesman for Titan Aero Drones, speaks to attendees of the Ag In Motion convention about spray drones on July 22, 2026 in Langham, Sask. (Maia Tustonic\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Even with narrow tires, ground sprayers can trample 22 to 24 acres of crop while working, Hill said. That could mean losing almost $15,000 worth of canola crop. Drones wouldn’t have that issue.<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t take long to pay for the drone,” Hill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How quick will the uptake be?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spray drones can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But that’s cheap compared to ground sprayers, which can cost hundreds of thousands, Crumly said.<\/p>\n

Operational costs are also lower \u2014 about 83 cents an acre to run a drone, compared to $10.50 an acre for a high-clearance ground sprayer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA poster shows a spray drone on display at the Ag In Motion convention in Langham, Sask. on July 22, 2026. It says prices for the drone start above $38,000. (Maia Tustonic\/CBC)<\/p>\n

But farmers aren’t exactly looking past the price tag.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Probably my biggest hesitation is, my chequebook isn’t quite big enough yet,” Hill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While he said the drones are “the way of the future,” Hill said the tech may not be able to spray many acres at a time and likely needs a bit more development. Still, he’s seriously considering getting one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Raymond Phillips, who runs a farm in Alberta northwest of Lloydminster, said he’s also watching how the tech improves. He’s mindful of how much having a drone could cost beyond the initial sticker price, he said.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Regulation change brings renewed interest in pesticide-spraying drones:\"\"<\/p>\n

Regulation change brings renewed interest in pesticide-spraying drones<\/p>\n

Health Canada lifted its restrictions to allow drones to spray pesticides at the end of June. Since then, dealers and farmers say there’s been a surge of interest in the technology.<\/p>\n

“You need a mixing system, you need a generator, you need a pilot’s licence,” he noted. “There’s lots of pieces to the puzzle to do that before you say, yeah, I’m buying one today.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Phillips said he foresees himself getting one in the next two or three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“They’re still in the development stage,” he said. “But I believe that it’s a coming thing.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":824201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-824200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/824201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}