The DroneOn Show

In episode 40 of the DroneOn Show, Mike sits down with Aaron Clark, an agronomist and ag retail pro with 10+ years selling seed, chemical, and fertilizer in Eastern Ohio. Aaron shares why he jumped into spray drones—to solve chronic timing issues with airplanes and helicopters that left his customers hanging during critical fungicide windows. He details the painful transition from two unreliable Hylio 130s (crashes, software headaches, slow parts) to DJI T-50s, spraying 7,500 acres last season and finally hitting consistent productivity. They dive into real talk on building farmer trust, the grind of relationship-based sales, disease pressure (tar spot, vomit toxin), tight budgets, and why "it depends" is the agronomist’s favorite phrase. Aaron also drops wisdom for new operators: be willing to travel, grind hard, and understand that equipment is only half the battle—reliability and relationships win acres.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - How To Survive A Long Weekend Hunting
(00:01:40) - Deer Chasing
(00:05:57) - Farmers Get a Drone
(00:09:04) - Helios 1, First year
(00:13:46) - Fly drones on a full-time basis
(00:18:07) - Drones for Farming: Growing Demand
(00:18:58) - Fungicide Coverage on Corn
(00:23:23) - Fungicide Resistance or Mother Nature Will Win?
(00:29:12) - Budgets are ugly right now
(00:33:24) - Drones and the farm budget
(00:38:06) - President Trump on America's Drone Industry
(00:41:00) - Are You Ready to Upgrade to a T50?
(00:44:53) - Do drones cause corn to snap?
(00:47:47) - Have you got any acres lined up for the 2017 crop?
(00:48:54) - DRIVES: The Challenges of Selling Drones
(00:54:22) - Farmer Talk: Diversifying the Farm

In this DroneOn Show episode from the Kansas City, Missouri drone conference, Mike, Jason, and Dennis recap their 12-hour storm-dodging drive and the event’s huge growth—from a small hallway three years ago to a packed expo with new UAVs, trailers, and vendors. They break down the unreleased Helio big-drone prototype (full Hobbywing build, 3D-printed tank), its predecessor’s flop, and an upcoming July model. The group brainstorms drone futures: heavy-lift transport (crawdad hauls from swamps, irrigation pipe in Arizona mines, mountain drops), de-icing solar/wind farms, Starlink-enabled remote docks, and T100 speed advantages (45 mph returns potentially outpacing two T-50s at 70-80 acres/hour). They challenge viewers to comment on what drones will do in 10 years and reflect on how wild today’s predictions may sound soon.

Chapters

(00:00:51) - Welcome Back
(00:01:26) - Drones at the End User Spray Drone Conference
(00:05:19) - A Drone For The First Time
(00:11:07) - First Spray Drones in the USA Market
(00:14:39) - Speakers at Spray Drone Conference
(00:17:42) - Drones at a Commercial Show
(00:21:12) - Drones in the U.S.
(00:23:13) - Do You Need a Drone?
(00:27:24) - Do Drones Need T100s?
(00:31:08) - T1 Hundreds vs T50: Battery
(00:34:59) - Drones or No Drones?
(00:38:45) - Do Farmers Need Drones?
(00:42:49) - Crawdads Spreading and Rat Bait With T100
(00:45:53) - Crazy Things Drones Will Do

In this episode of the DroneOn Show, host Mike chats with Newt, a Florida cattle farmer with 150 mama cows across three ranches who's also a veteran applicator branching into spray drones after years in the business with ground rigs and spreaders. Newt shares how he jumped into drones to secure his customer base when a client switched to aerial spraying for tall corn that ground rigs couldn't handle without damage, leading him to buy a full rig and spray at least 10,000 acres in his first season—enough to cover costs and stay in the black. They break down the realities of the application game: slim 5-8% profit margins after factoring in trucks, labor, insurance, and hidden costs; the need to travel for more corn work; trailer tweaks like plumbing upgrades and inductions for guys coming from ground rigs; and why drones shine in Florida's wet, humid fields where rigs get stuck or create ruts. Newt dishes on efficiency tips like marking obstacles for better autonomous flights, and a hilarious first-flight crash where his T50 sucked up the controller and exploded props—but survived with just blade swaps to rack up 5,000 acres. If you're eyeing the spray drone life, from startup costs and customer retention to crash lessons and landing pro tips, this raw field talk from a cattleman-turned-drone op delivers.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - How To Round Up Cattle
(00:00:40) - How to Run Drone Applications on a Trailer
(00:03:59) - Do You Need a Drone to Spray Your Fields?
(00:07:00) - How to get 11,000 acres planted in 24 days
(00:07:41) - What was the biggest challenge of learning the drone system?
(00:09:27) - Urea Applications, High Volume
(00:12:57) - Chemical Salesmen and Cropping Consultants
(00:13:50) - How To Weed Your Pastures
(00:16:37) - Farmers Talk About Drone Spray
(00:20:03) - Be Careful With Your Field
(00:23:27) - Drones on the job: Night Spray
(00:27:10) - T60X Spray Drone
(00:29:59) - How To Survive A Drone Crash
(00:35:00) - Flying a drone in the corn
(00:38:08) - How To Hydrate a T50
(00:41:08) - Don't Land Your Drone On a Trailer

In Episode 37 of the DroneOn Show, host Mike catches up with Henry, a local Ohio-based thermal drone pilot who's also diving into agricultural spraying, fresh off flying 15,000 acres of fungicide on corn across Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana with Dennis's crew. Henry breaks down the surprisingly easy transition from enterprise drones to spray drones—taking just about 10 hours to get comfortable—highlighting how stable they are despite the extra weight and why manual plus mode is a quick learn for anyone with prior drone experience. They dive into a typical 14-16 hour spray day: starting at sunup for calm winds, pushing through weather challenges (mostly minor this season), and the grind of beating storms while keeping drones clean nightly. Henry shares wild deer recovery stories, like yelling at 2 a.m. after finding "impossible" deer on back-to-back calls (one a liver shot, another a shoulder hit), plus spotting over 800 deer and 25 bears on a massive 5,000-acre thermal survey—leading to DNR involvement for bear studies and potential future wildlife work with bobcats and dens. The convo hits on drone tech's future, from using the Matrice 4TD as repeaters for insane range to DJI docks enabling worldwide remote flights via Starlink, and Henry's $5,000 repair saga turning his crashed 30T into a near-new backup. If you're eyeing a spray drone business, thermal recoveries, or just love real field stories of risk, sacrifice, and success, this episode packs it in.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Thermal Drone Pilot Transition to Spray Drone
(00:01:34) - Deer Recovered in the Night
(00:03:16) - Flying Drone in the Field
(00:04:04) - How many acres did you cover with Dennis this year?
(00:05:32) - How Much Did Weather Affect the Harvest?
(00:06:20) - Don't Trust Just One Source For the Weather
(00:09:09) - Drone Crash: Power Line Stabilization
(00:10:59) - Drone Crash Saves a Drone From Eating Corn
(00:12:38) - Ag Boundary Guys:
(00:16:23) - A Drone With a Pickup Truck?
(00:20:06) - Have You Got What it Takes to Own a 15,000-
(00:20:59) - Drones on the Road
(00:23:55) - Drones Full Time, No Family
(00:26:19) - Drones to Deliver Deer Corn?
(00:30:46) - Deer Hunting With a Drone
(00:34:16) - Thermal Drone
(00:35:26) - DJI 4 TD vs. 30T Drone
(00:38:47) - A 4 TD Thermal Pilot
(00:42:12) - Do You Need a Full-Time Pilot?
(00:43:08) - Deer Searching During the Day
(00:45:57) - Deer Found Dead in Spray Drone
(00:47:31) - Deer Search and Recovery on Drone
(00:51:01) - You Can't Help Hunting
(00:52:44) - Deer Hunt in West Virginia
(00:54:59) - Flying a drone to deliver corn
(00:56:01) - Drone Rescue: Night Spring
(00:57:39) - Drone Recovery in the Amish Country
(00:59:35) - Do People Think a Drone Is Looking At Their Property?
(01:02:31) - Black Bear Found in My Backyard
(01:04:44) - Flying a thermal drone over the DNR property
(01:08:39) - Deer Drone Crash
(01:10:56) - Drones in the Air

In this episode of The Drone On Show, Mike sits down with Cameron Hershberger to dive deep into the world of thermal drones for deer recovery and the booming spray drone business in agriculture. Cam shares his incredible journey from a logging background to building a thriving drone service that's recovered over 100 deer in just one season!

We cover everything from starting a side gig that exploded into a full-time passion, the challenges of balancing hunting with drone work, wild stories of close calls in the woods (both logging and deer tracking), and Cam's plans to expand into Belize for untapped farming opportunities. Plus, tips on customer service, regulations, and why passion beats profit-chasing in this industry. Whether you're a hunter, drone enthusiast, or aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is packed with real-talk insights, and advice on avoiding scams in drone recoveries.