Molly Blum, a sophomore in agronomy from Polo, Illinois, spent her summer working and gaining valuable experience, as well as earning some new credentials during a summer internship with Thomas Elevated Ag in Bellevue, Iowa. A relatively new agricultural service company, Thomas Elevated Ag provides drone applications of chemicals and spreading cover crop seed in large areas of eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois.
Due to the nature of the internship, Blum had to become a licensed drone pilot. “I had to learn a lot about flight safety, laws, regulations, airspace, etc. I can say I never thought I would be a pilot before this,” said Blum.
She learned to fly three types of drones. “We used a DJI Mavic to map out fields, then sprayed them with either a DJI T40 or an XAG P100. In a typical day, I would take turns with another employee either piloting or filling the drone with product and changing the batteries,” said Blum. “A lot of people don’t realize how big agricultural drones are. The ones I’ve been flying, DJI T40s for example, weigh around 55 lbs. empty, fly at 15 mph and can carry upwards of 250 lbs.”
