A look at how drones are taking crop health and productivity to new heights in southeast NC

BLADENBORO, NC (WWAY) — A high-tech tool is giving some local farmers a new way to increase crop productivity from the sky.

W&S Farms in Bladenboro launched Southeast Drone Solutions in 2023, a company helping local farmers take agriculture to new heights.

The company uses small drones to give farmers a bird’s eye view of their crops.

It can help determine the health of those crops along with identifying weeds or other issues that may be a concern.

Once problem areas are identified, a larger spray drone is then used to spray fungicides, pesticides, or water, and can cover a 5-acre piece of land in just a few minutes.

CEO and drone pilot Wade Stanaland said the drones have helped increase crop productivity for local farmers.

“We feel that we’ve improved our yields by being able to catch issues earlier before they’re actually visible to the eye and allowing us to treat them ahead of time,” Stanaland said. “And we feel like that’s probably increased us by 5 to 10 percent in certain areas.”

While planes and helicopters are still commonly used to spray crops, Stanaland said drones can reach areas those aircraft can’t, especially in southeastern North Carolina.

“Our benefit is we can get areas that he can’t. On larger acre land, of course the helicopter, airplane is a lot more efficient. But in southeast North Carolina where our field sizes typically smaller and we have a lot of tree cover, that’s where we excel with the drones.”

Stanaland added that other area farmers have also used his company, and he plans to add a second spray drone later this year.