The DroneOn Show

In this DroneOn Show episode, Mike and Kevin sits down with Jeremy Shelton, an Illinois drone deer recovery pilot, and his attorney Ed Fanning to break down a landmark court case. Jeremy received a citation for using a thermal drone to search for a wounded deer. The case went to trial and he was found not guilty — not on a technicality, but because the judge ruled that simply searching for a lost deer with a drone does not violate Illinois statute. The conversation dives deep into the actual law versus the conservation department’s interpretation, what “hunting,” “pursue,” and “take” really mean, why conservation has stated they will ignore the ruling and continue seizing drones, and practical advice for pilots who want to offer this service legally. A must-listen for anyone running or considering thermal drone deer recovery in Illinois.

Edward J. Fanning
Fanning Law Office - Hardin, IL
(618) 576-2284

Jeremy Shelton - https://www.dronedeerrecovery.com/pages/pilots/midwest-thermal-drones

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Drones for Deer Recovery in Illinois
(00:02:24) - Illinois Conservation Officers: They Don't Like to Lose
(00:03:50) - Lawyers on Wildlife Conservation Issues
(00:04:18) - Drone Business in Illinois
(00:05:59) - Drone Hunting in Illinois
(00:10:46) - Waterfowl Hunting Cases
(00:15:07) - game warden issues drone ticket
(00:19:48) - Drones in Illinois
(00:23:46) - Defense on Drone Case
(00:28:41) - The Drone Case: Pursuing a Deer
(00:33:21) - Don't Use a Drone to Find a Deer
(00:36:44) - Defense of Drone Deer Recovery
(00:41:43) - Flying a thermal drone is a violation of conservation law
(00:45:29) - Democracy on Drone Hunting in Illinois
(00:49:23) - How to locate a wounded deer by thermal drone
(00:51:36) - Flying a drone in the woods
(00:55:45) - How to Get Your Drone Prosecuted
(00:59:52) - Do Conservation Officers Need to Charge Drone Users?
(01:03:47) - Deer Recovery in Pike County
(01:08:38) - Drones for Business: How to Run a Drone Business
(01:09:31) - The Dad on the Drone Case
(01:13:26) - Drones Are Coming after You in Illinois

In episode 48 of the DroneOn Show episode, Mike sits down with 25-year-old Caden Wilburn of C&J Spray Drones in Laddonia, Missouri. Caden shares how he launched his drone spraying operation to carve out his own space on the family farm (1200 crop acres + 2400 hogs) and has now covered roughly 15,000 acres in just three seasons. He talks about starting with T40s, upgrading to two T50s, and seriously considering the T100, while running long, efficient passes on flat, square Missouri fields. The conversation covers fungicide as his main work, expanding into aquatic weed control on ponds and lakes, trailer setups, generator choices, family business decisions, and realistic advice for new operators on regulations, patience, and staying competitive in a fast-moving industry.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Getting Started in the Drone Industry
(00:03:07) - How To Hydrate With A T100
(00:06:46) - How to spray a lot of wheat
(00:07:14) - Flying a drone from a trailer
(00:09:41) - Would You Upgrade to a T100 Drone?
(00:14:17) - Do You Need A Generator For Your Drone?
(00:18:03) - DJI's Generator Is Genius
(00:21:46) - Is a Hybrid Drone Necessary?
(00:24:35) - DRone: M30T Drone Relays
(00:28:33) - How To Water Lily Pads
(00:32:32) - Don't Let Invasive Growth Grow in Your Ponds
(00:36:57) - Do drones help with aquatics?
(00:38:54) - Getting Started with a Drone Business
(00:42:41) - Would You Buy Your Drone From New Way AG?
(00:46:02) - Drone Pilots: Should You Branch Out?
(00:48:07) - Reasons to Buy a Drone Trailer
(00:52:42) - New Way Trailer: The Toolbox

In this DroneOn Show episode, Mike talks with Johnney Staples of Nexus Solutions USA in South Carolina. Johnney shares his journey from tobacco farming and hand-weeding as a kid to earning a PhD in weed science at Auburn, then building a successful vegetation management and custom application business. He explains why he started Nexus to serve industrial turf, utilities, right-of-way, and rangeland clients that traditional ag reps often overlook. The conversation covers his early drone experiments (including wild stories with the first DJI models), why XAG became his go-to platform, post-fire and habitat work, herbicide mode of action, calibration lessons, and the realities of government contracts and regulations. Honest, experienced wisdom from a true veteran applicator on building a drone + spray service that lasts.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Flying a Drone
(00:02:12) - Farmers Turn from Row Crops to Turf
(00:06:43) - How a spray business helped farmers control weeds
(00:10:37) - Prior to drones, vegetation sprayers were essential
(00:13:51) - Hand Hoses for UTVs
(00:14:11) - Chemical Guys
(00:15:28) - Do glyphosate and paraquat cause cancer?
(00:19:16) - How to Choose the Right Herbicide
(00:21:53) - Farmers get their hands on a drone
(00:23:28) - Farmers get weed control certificate
(00:26:41) - Blaze Drone Exemption
(00:30:43) - Flying a drone through a power line
(00:34:12) - Drones go into the Catawba River
(00:37:34) - Drone Gone Missing in the River
(00:41:15) - Drones for Forestry: Growing
(00:44:31) - How many acres of forest land do you spray now?
(00:46:03) - Is there enough work in your area for what you guys do?
(00:49:23) - Flying the T50 on M+
(00:51:25) - New Ag Demo: Drone Hunting
(00:54:29) - What Keeps You Flying Your DJI Drone?
(00:58:21) - DJI Launches in China
(00:58:38) - Jason Jay on His Mistakes

In this DroneOn Show episode from the Spray Drone End User Conference, Mike sits down with Dave and Jared from Bear UAV / Branch Enterprise in Eastern Oregon. They share how they started in custom application back in 1999 after a tough year in potatoes and onions, evolving from four-wheelers and pickups with hand wands to drones in 2017. The conversation covers the realities of rangeland and noxious weed spraying, post-fire habitat restoration, government contracts, and why they prefer XAG (Zagg) platforms for their spraying quality despite occasional software/connectivity quirks. They discuss the massive difference between Eastern and Western Oregon, the challenges of heavy-lift regulations, supporting older drones, and why relationships and doing the job right matter more than hype in the drone industry. Honest talk from experienced custom applicators on regulations, farmer perceptions, and the future of drones in tough Western terrain.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Eastern Oregon Cattle Industry
(00:03:30) - How to properly spray mosquito repellent with a drone
(00:07:23) - Small-scale drone use
(00:11:47) - Federal Firefighting Drone Programs
(00:16:13) - DJI P100 Pro vs. P100
(00:18:09) - DJI Drone Sales
(00:21:43) - Drones for onions
(00:27:16) - Reasons to be honest with applic
(00:28:17) - Farm Bureaus on Drone Industry
(00:30:00) - Do drones need FAA regulation?
(00:34:54) - Agriculture Drone Regulations
(00:39:18) - Do drones cause wildfires?
(00:41:28) - Do You Need a Drone Pilot License in Oregon?
(00:46:14) - Farmers on the Drone Industry
(00:49:58) - New Drone Applicators Coming into the Industry
(00:50:35) - John Deere vs Drone
(00:56:20) - Farmers on John Deere and Drone
(00:58:24) - Do You Need a Double Deck Drone Trailer?
(01:01:17) - Drone On The Drone

In this DroneOn Show episode, Mike talks with Josh from Kansas, a former Army veteran who built Midwest Drone Applications into a serious operation covering 66,000 acres in one season with a team of contractors. Josh shares how he got started through drone deer recovery, his wild first T40 season (self-taught in thigh-high grass), the rapid growth from one drone to a fleet, and the infamous J100 rollout that led to multiple in-flight failures. He dives into managing large teams, the power of the DJI ecosystem and Starlink for real-time oversight, why he sticks with T50s and is adding T100s, nighttime spraying, and the military-style discipline his team brings to the job. A raw, honest conversation about scaling fast, learning the hard way, treating customers right, and the future of big-acre drone work in the Midwest.