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14 CapitalPress.com January 16, 2015 Idaho drone company first to receive ag exemption Operators hope to confirm savings for farmers By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press A newly formed consortium of Northwest companies is the first to receive an exemption from federal aviation regulations to use unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture. Advanced Aviation Solutions in Star, Idaho, and Empire Air- lines in Hayden, Idaho, are form- ing Empire Unmanned, to be based in Hayden, which will do agriculture flying. The company recently received an exemption from the Federal Aviation Ad- ministration to fly commercially, providing a service to farmers and other agribusinesses. “Being the first is always a big deal,” said Robert Blair, a partner in Advanced Aviation Solutions and a wheat farmer in Kendrick, Idaho. Empire Unmanned will serve Eastern Washington, Eastern Or- egon and Idaho using UAVs for crop scans to make management Matthew Weaver/Capital Press Brad Ward and Robert Blair prepare a demonstration of an unmanned aerial vehicle during a precision agri- culture field day on the University of Idaho’s Parker Farm in June 2014 in Moscow. The Federal Aviation Ad- ministration recently approved an exemption for Empire Unmanned, a consortium in which Ward and Blair are partners, to fly UAVs for commercial use, the first company in agriculture to receive such an exemption. decisions. “Intuitively, we know that precision agriculture is going to increase yields and reduce in- puts,” said Brad Ward, vice presi- dent of Advanced Aviation Solu- tions. “Industry-wide, there’s no concrete information to say per- centages that this is going to save the farmer on both sides, but we know it does.” The company is discussing working with Washington State University and the University of Idaho to support research and de- termine actual increases. “Having another layer of information from the air is go- ing to add to the farmer’s deci- sion-making ability,” Ward said. The FAA exemption for Em- pire Unmanned covers a specific UAV called an eBee. The com- pany picked that model because it already had FAA documenta- tion and did not have to be evalu- ated for airworthiness, Blair said. Under the exemption, the UAV can operate at altitudes lower than 400 feet, with the UAV within line of sight, for a half-hour of flight time. The exemption requires that the UAV operator have a private pilot’s license. Farmers cannot use UAVs for scouting their fields. “They can fly as a hobby, but the minute they take pictures and use it for management decisions, they are breaking the law,” Blair said. “Growers now have a legal means to be able to use UAVs to fly their fields, they can use us as a service.” The FAA can levy a $10,000 fine for breaking the rules, Ward said. “This is conjecture, but there are probably people who are cheating on that rule, sure,” he said. Ward believes the FAA wants to develop a special operator’s certification for UAVs. They use pilot certification currently because private pilots have the necessary skills, he said. “Eventually I think we will see an (unmanned aircraft sys- tem) operator’s certificate that’s within the reach of most farm- ers,” he said. Blair believes the company will be a test case for the FAA for future commercial use in ag- riculture, considering safety pro- tocols and less-restrictive flying requirements. Empire Unmanned is the 13th company to receive an ex- emption, Ward said, and the first for agriculture. Other exemptions have been granted to companies in the motion picture, energy, sur- veying and real estate industries. The company applied for the exemption last July. Blair estimates he could in- crease value by $10 per acre by using UAVs to monitor his fields. “If we can identify things that need to be done during the grow- ing season, we can start adding a couple dollars an acre here or there and be a lot more efficient,” he said. 3-2/#5 20179 Main St., St. Paul, OR 97137 Tillamook, Oregon FFA Chapter W E C AN H ANDLE I T ... Sales, installation and service of all your Electrical, Pump and Irrigation needs. Proud Supporter of A family operated business designing quality fences for over 40 years! 1-800-272-9045 info@livewire products.com www. livewireproducts .com 3-2/#T2D CALL TODAY! 503-633-1111 JOEY MEYER www.ErnstIrrigation.com 3-2/#T2D ˚ S G R O L E T G E T H E R W ! T O 3-2/#T4D 888-877-7665 Proud Supporters of C L J LEON JAMES Construction Co. Inc. 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That project was about creating fuel pellets from methane digested pulp and I ended up using a tire jack to make the pellets and a bomb calorimeter made out of coffee can to test them. I had no idea at the time that this project would take me to I-SWEEEP, an international fair in Houston, Texas and to the National FFA Convention. These successes gave me confidence and helped me to come out of my shell more. I continued my project the next year and to my surprise I was invited to a fair called INESPO in Amsterdam and although I didn’t win anything it was one of the most incredible trips of my life. I had only been out of the state a few times so finding myself in Europe seeing buildings that are older then our country was quite an experience. I also became vice- president of the FFA chapter and went back to nationals with my project. This brought me to my senior year and in the midst of looking at colleges and taking tests I started a new science project looking at air emissions from burning chicken litter. I went two international fairs that year and national and took first place at the Genius Olympiad in New York and at Nationals. I finished out my FFA career this year when I returned to nationals to receive my American degree. There I had the chance to look back at my time in the FFA and it still shocks me how far I have come. When I entered high school I was a shy freshman with little to no leadership or public speaking experience. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to do with my life. Now that’s all changed. I am confident in myself and my beliefs. I have become a leader, a world traveler, an agriculturalist, and discovered a passion for teaching others about agriculture and science. It was as an FFA member, while working with younger students and presenting my project that I realized that I wanted to become a high school agriculture and science teacher. In the end one thing means more to me than anything else the FFA has given me and that is the friends I have made. When I entered high school I was a shy freshman who didn’t have a ton of friends. Now I have great friends from my chapter, all over the state, around the nation, and even in other countries. The FFA has changed my entire life from the people I know to the career I have chosen and has given me so much along the way. It still shocks me to think that all of this goes back to my ag teacher mentioning tractor driving to freshman. I just hope one day I can make an impact in the lives of my students the way my ag teacher did for me. Joey is currently an Ag Science and Biology double major at Oregon State University and plans to enter a Masters program in Agricultural Education next year. 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