For the last 40 years, Rochester, Minnesota, has been holding the Agweek Farm Show. In 2021, Agweek was a virtual event, but from March 8-9, 2022, the show returned to Graham Arenas at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds. Agweek’s manager, Eric Olson, said that this year’s event would touch upon modern farming practices such as urban agriculture, cybersecurity in agriculture, animal policies, and agriculture in a carbon neutral world. “Having a venue for farmers to connect directly with a variety of agriculture suppliers, services and vendors is key to maintaining our local farms and food supply,” Olson said. “A live show brings excitement and innovations that can only be found when different aspects of the industry are together in one place.”

More than 50 vendors were slated to be represented at the show, but one new vendor, in particular, was on hand to truly demonstrate modern farming practices. ABC Drones was founded by husband and wife Joseph and Rachel Encinias, and Rachel’s sisters Sarah and Rebekah Hart in 2020. They are fourth generation farmers who are invested in optimizing farming practices to meet the growing demand for food supplies. After plenty of research, the Encinias and Harts realized that drone technology would become the key to maintaining a profitable agricultural industry. As the demand for food continues to increase, finding people to work on farms has decreased. Drones have become vital in filling that gap.

ABC Drones resells Hylio drones and helps farmers learn how to adapt the technology into their already existing practices. Hylio was founded in 2015 by Arthur Erickson, Nikhil Dixit, and Mike Oda out of Houston, Texas. They have built custom, robust drones to apply chemicals, fertilizers, and even sow seeds. “Our technology represents a complete paradigm shift from the old antiquated methods of the past few decades,” said Erickson. “Farmers have been struggling to keep up using this old technology. Finally, using Hylio’s agro drones they have access to a tool that can overcome the challenges that they face. Farmers can now treat their crops with laser precision. This eliminates waste and dramatically improves yields.”

Hylio’s agro drones are being used all over the world by large and small farm operations, local and federal governments, and even in university studies. Since incorporating in 2015, Hylio has progressed with emerging technology and design demands to make an ultimate cost effective agricultural drone. But what sets Hylio apart from other agro drones is the ease of use of their technology. There is no need to be an experienced drone pilot, a big deterrent for many old school farmers. A user simply has to upload a mission plan to the drone’s software and press a start button. The drone autonomously does the rest.

ABC Drones was the first agricultural drone company to participate in the 40 years running Agweek Farm Show, but will surely not be the last. Drones are completely changing the landscape of the agricultural industry. The drone industry is one of the fastest growing markets today. Agricultural drones represent one of the largest sectors within the growing industry. The mission of companies like ABC Drones and Hylio is to make farming easier and more successful, to in turn ensure that the food demands of the world are met.