Drones will gather data over the 1,400-acre farm to assess crop health to boost yields, officials said.
“The fields are highly instrumented making it an ideal location to fly, and collect data enabling the planned precision agriculture research,” Richard Honneywell, Ohio/Indiana UAS Center executive director said in a statement.
Agribusiness is Ohio’s biggest industry, and state officials have targeted growth in the emerging field of commercial drones. An Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International study has estimated the industry would create 2,700 jobs and create a $2.1 billion impact in Ohio by 2025. Nationally, the the industry could create more than 100,000 jobs and pump $82 billion into the U.S. economy over the same time, the study predicted.
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