Agronomist on Walmart Drone Fails, Fungicide Wins & DJI Ban Concerns | The DroneOn Show Episode 33

In this episode of the DroneOn Show, host Mike chats with Melvin Lahmers, an agronomist and seed consultant from TMK Bakersville who's been in the farming game for over 30 years, growing up on a family farm and helping growers feed the world through crop consulting, custom applications, and aerial tech. They dive right into a hilarious cold call from an 80-year-old farmer hunting for a drone to check on his cattle—bashing Walmart models that "only fly 500-600 feet" and skipping licenses altogether—while stressing how drones save calves and boost efficiency without needing Wi-Fi or fancy features. Melvin shares his pilot's perspective on scouting fields from the air, the evolution from satellite imagery to drones for spotting issues like irrigation problems or disease in corn, and why fungicide applications via drones are a game-changer for yield boosts in river bottom ground. They tackle big-picture topics like the potential DJI ban's massive impact on U.S. farmers (with no comparable American alternatives yet), regulatory hurdles, the "air show" crowd who just want to see drones in action, and tips for applicators on dealing with curious onlookers or charging for demos. Melvin opens up about his unique "confidence cards" he hands out for motivation, drawn from coaching youth basketball, and emphasizes the need for perspective in ag's fast-changing world. If you're into real talk on drone tech's role in modern farming, from practical cattle scouting to high-stakes policy fights, this episode delivers. Chapters (00:00:00) - Farmer Gets Sent A Drone(00:02:25) - The Bachelor Gets A Bubbler(00:03:13) - DJI Drone Ban: What It Means For Farmers(00:04:59) - Farmers on Drone Farming(00:06:16) - Melvin Larmor Lammer on(00:08:27) - Farmers: Aerial Application of Chemicals(00:12:13) - Fungicide on All Corn(00:14:54) - Flying Through the Cornfield(00:16:30) - What would be considered a specialty crop(00:19:31) - Does Head Scab Cause Crop Problems?(00:22:51) - How to Weed Your Wheat(00:25:40) - 3.3%? Yep(00:26:01) - Farmers on Drone Farming(00:30:02) - FAA Tells Drone Pilot to Stop Flying Drone Near Crops(00:32:33) - Tom Kearney on the Spray Drone(00:33:47) - Drones in the United States(00:37:36) - John Deere on His Drone and His Farming(00:41:24) - Flying Planes vs Drones(00:41:40) - Democracy for Drones(00:43:52) - Political Signs on Farmers' Fields(00:46:25) - Do We Need a Deer Repellent?(00:48:35) - UPS Drone Application(00:51:37) - Farmers vs Drones(00:54:46) - Drone vs. Weed Killer(00:57:47) - Farmers: Do We Need To Brush Hog Our Pastures?(01:00:48) - How to Choose Your Windscreen(01:01:06) - "Boring" Farming(01:02:14) - Farmers and the drones(01:05:28) - Drones for Agriculture(01:06:50) - Farmers Want a Drone to Spray Their Field(01:10:30) - Melvin Jones: More Confidence Than a Business Card(01:13:34) - TMC Bakersfield(01:15:47) - Landon on Spotify and Google Music