My name is Marshall Poland. I am a 20 year veteran of the Army. After retiring I went to school to learn about unmanned technology and fell in love with the idea of using drones to make the lives of people in my community better. I am a Part 107 FAA certified drone pilot.
The Oklahoma agricultural industry generates over $2 billion in receipts each year. The drone market is set to grow to over $400 million in 2024. The first to market opportunities in this industry in Oklahoma offer unique expansion opportunity this year and in the future.
Cross Drones Aerial Photography and Mapping (CDAPM) will provide agricultural drone services to SW Oklahoma initially with plans to extend to all of Oklahoma and Northern Texas.
Mapping- Using multispectral drones to map and provide data for farmers to make data-driven decisions by identifying problem areas.
Spraying- Agricultural spraying drones can be used to spray fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides with pinpoint centimeter accuracy, reducing waste and improving crop yields. No need to run large equipment and over spray entire crops.
Ranching-Thermal drones can be used to identify sick or lame livestock by taking temperatures. This allows ranchers to easily monitor not only livestock health, but identify predator ingress/egress points and issues with grazing pasture and fence line in need of repair. Multispectral drones help with pasture management.
Agriculture income predictions- The focus of CDAPM will be agriculture. 8 growing months per year with a conservative estimate of 2400 acres per month at $16 per acre yields an estimated $300k per growing season. This includes the cost of mapping and spraying.
Ranching-varying price models depending on need of the rancher. Subscriptions for multiple monthly flights over grazing areas. Off season potential earnings of $4k per month.
Overhead- There is no need for a physical location. Fuel and fertilizers/chemicals are wrapped into the pricing models. Once the drones are purchased, yearly battery replacement would be necessary with an estimated $6000 for the larger ag drone batteries. Vehicle maintenance estimated at $2000 per year. Cloud based mapping and analysis software $3k lifetime license. Initial advertising budget of $4k using word of mouth and community outreach to maintain momentum. This is a very low overhead business.
Employees-Sole proprietorship initially with more employees upon expansion into different territories. My initial salary would be $70k per year.
Licensing- recertification in part 107 and 137 costs about $400 every two years.
Initial drone purchase costs-DJI Agras sprayer drone-$20k DJI Mavic 3M $10k Batteries $6k
Trailer with liquid tanks for carrying necessary chemicals -$10K
Thank you for your time. I appreciate that you are busy. Please reach out with any more questions.
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