Conferences
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems on the Farm: Preparing for the Legal Issues
Peggy Kirk Hall and Rusty Rumley
Summary
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International predicts that 80% of the commercial market for drones will eventually be for agricultural uses. Drones or Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) weighing less than 55 pounds have data gathering capabilities that offer beneficial agricultural applications. Farmers, ranchers and crop consultants plan to use sUAS technology for crop scouting, precision agriculture systems, irrigation monitoring and property and livestock surveillance. This new technology brings new and complex legal issues to agricultural operators, such as governmental regulation, private property rights and civil liability. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a regulation to govern the use of sUAS in commercial settings that will become final in 2016 and many states are enacting laws to address emerging private property and civil liability concerns. Extension plays a key role in preparing the agricultural community for the legal issues that accompany sUAS technology. This presentation presents an infographic for farmers that summarizes the FAA rule for sUAS operators, state laws on sUAS operation and legal issues at the intersection of sUAS, private property rights and civil liability.
Presentation Materials
Details
| Conference | 2016 National Farm Management Conference |
| Presentation Type | Concurrent |