Kansas invests $3M in ag drone expansion

Kansas is putting serious money behind agricultural drones.

Governor Laura Kelly announced the state will invest $3 million in a drone initiative aimed at improving yields, reducing input costs, managing livestock, and expanding precision agriculture capabilities across the state.

The funding will support Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems in developing systems capable of operating beyond visual line of sight, or BVLOS, a key requirement for large scale farm operations where fields can stretch for miles, as STATESCOOP reports.

In a state where agriculture is not just an industry but the backbone of the economy, the scale matters. In 2024, Kansas had roughly 55,500 farms covering 44.8 million acres, about 85 percent of the state’s land area. The average farm size sits at around 804 acres, with major production in winter wheat, sorghum, and beef cattle.

BVLOS is the real prize

The strategic angle here is clear. BVLOS operations dramatically increase efficiency for agricultural operators.

Under current rules, the Federal Aviation Administration typically grants BVLOS approvals on a case by case basis through waivers.

However, the agency proposed a new rule last year that would allow routine BVLOS flights under defined conditions, including operations below 400 feet, launch points from approved sites, and mandatory detect and avoid capabilities.

If finalized, that rule could unlock significant productivity gains for agriculture. A drone that can legally fly across hundreds or thousands of acres without the pilot chasing it in a pickup truck changes the economics overnight.

Kelly Hills secured approval in 2024 to operate a 49,000 square mile drone test range, giving Kansas a sizable sandbox for development.

Kansas Agriculture Secretary Mike Beam framed the investment as a move to keep local farmers competitive in a rapidly modernizing sector.

The DJI reality no one wants to say out loud

Here is the uncomfortable truth.

The majority of agricultural spraying drones operating in the United States today are manufactured by DJI. Their Agras series dominates crop spraying because it exists, it works, and it scales.

Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturers like Skydio have focused heavily on public safety, defense, and enterprise inspection markets. Their X10 platform has gained traction in DFR and law enforcement environments.

But agricultural spraying is a different animal. It requires high payload capacity, liquid handling systems, pump reliability, corrosion resistance, and field level serviceability. That is not a minor feature add. It is an entirely different engineering problem.

Policy pressure aimed at restricting DJI in public safety and government markets has ripple effects. If regulatory or political actions reduce DJI’s footprint broadly without domestic alternatives ready to fill agricultural demand, farmers could face equipment shortages, higher costs, or reduced technological access.

You can remove a dominant supplier from one segment. That does not mean you can instantly replace them across all segments.

Agriculture runs on margins measured in cents per bushel. Equipment availability is not ideological. It is operational.

DroneXL’s Take

Kansas is making a calculated bet on precision agriculture and BVLOS development. From a strategic standpoint, it makes sense. The state has the acreage, the farm density, and now a large certified test range.

But there is a larger national tension building between industrial policy and market reality.

If the U.S. wants domestic drone manufacturing to lead in agriculture, it needs companies building serious agricultural platforms, not just tactical and public safety aircraft.

Precision agriculture is not a side market. It is one of the largest civilian drone opportunities in the country.

Right now, DJI owns that lane.

If policymakers squeeze supply before American manufacturers can compete at scale in spraying and heavy lift ag drones, the ones who feel it first will not be defense contractors or city police departments.

It will be farmers.

Photo credit: Laura Kelly Facebook Page, DJI, Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems.