Iowa & Mexico Spray Pilots: Zane & Bernhard on Startup Stories & Future of Drones | DroneOn Show Ep 58

In this DroneOn Show episode, Mike sits down with two fellow spray drone applicators: Zane Carter of Neutral Drones in Iowa and Bernhard Martens from Chihuahua, Mexico. Zane shares how a layoff from Wells Fargo led him into the industry, flying T40s in his first year and covering thousands of acres before building his own operation. Bernhard recounts starting in 2021 with a single T20 funded by his farm boss, working the farm by day and custom spraying by night to hit 8,000 acres in his first season—with a drone so reliable it barely needed parts. The three discuss early crashes, power lines as the biggest threat, differences in field sizes and operations between Iowa and Mexico, the strong ongoing demand for custom work, and where the industry is headed over the next five years as more farmers consider buying their own drones while custom applicators continue to scale. Chapters (00:00:00) - Nutri Drones: Drone On Air(00:00:22) - How to Get Out of Dropping Chemicals(00:02:36) - How to spray drones on a farm(00:06:46) - Buy Back My Drone Back(00:07:38) - Drone Crash During Spray(00:10:15) - Flying a drone off a power line(00:13:26) - Are there any regulations on crop spraying in Mexico?(00:15:45) - Flying a drone damaged by fire(00:17:14) - The Hard Work of Having a Drone Business(00:21:02) - Drones for Business: More Customization, Less Stress(00:21:58) - Why drones are crashed in the night(00:24:48) - Farmhouse on an Acreage(00:25:55) - Continued growth in custom app business(00:27:07) - Had I Said No to More Acres, I Would Have Had(00:27:37) - Farmers Talk About Drone Sales(00:31:54) - DJI's 14,000 Generator(00:34:47) - Do You Need a Diesel Generator For Drone Applications?(00:37:28) - Big Battery Packs For Solar Power(00:40:13) - Do You Need Solar to Fly?(00:41:41) - T70 vs T100(00:43:14) - What to Do About Dual-Motor Drones(00:46:59) - Do You Need a Drone to Spray?(00:49:24) - Do drones affect crop spraying?(00:52:44) - Is it Too Late to Start a Drone Business?(00:55:21) - Drones Coming soon to our Region