AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is hosting the second annual Spray Drone End-User Conference on Feb. 26-29 at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The first conference was held virtually in 2023, with 220 people in attendance. This year, Steve Li, an Alabama Extension weed scientist, and his team are offering the conference in a hybrid format.
“The conference was the most comprehensive, end-user-focused spraying event in North America in 2023,” Li said. “We are so excited that it is back for 2024.”
Registration
Registration is available online through the Alabama Extension Store at www.aces.edu/go/store. There are two registration fees based on attendance preferences. Registration for in-person attendance is $350 but will increase to $450 after Jan. 31. Registration for fully remote attendance is $200 but will increase to $250 after Jan. 31. Remote attendees will have access to all presentations but will not have access to panels and field demonstrations. Recordings of the presentations will be available to all participants after the conference.
Conference Sessions
The following sessions and many others will be covered during this year’s conference:
- Technical field demonstrations with several of the latest spray drone models, as well as live swath testing.
- Regulatory updates from the following entities:
- Federal Aviation Administration
- United States Environmental Protection Agency
- Crop Life of America
- California Department of Pesticide Regulation
- Association of American Pesticide Control Officials
- Global spray drone task forces
- Eight hours of presentations from renowned researchers, equipment manufacturers and experienced drone operators.
- Six hours of panel discussions and Q&A with regulatory agency representatives, researchers, equipment manufacturers and experienced custom-spray-drone operators.
- A technical session focusing on spray drift management and spray drone repair.
Backed by Research
Li has made drones a high priority for his research team, as farmers across the state look for better spraying options in small and water-logged fields. Li began his focus on drone use in field crops in 2019.
“Three years ago, we began working with drones and precision technologies,” Li said. “Now, we are heavily focused on delivering crop protection chemicals — including herbicide, fungicides and insecticides — as well as other chemicals that farmers typically use on the farm with these new technologies.”
Since 2022, Li’s research and outreach efforts include approximately 100 field trials, 42 live-drone demonstrations, many educational presentations and regular social media posts about spray drones. These efforts have reached more than 154,250 people across 25 countries and six continents.
More Information
For more information, visit the conference web page on the Alabama Extension website at www.aces.edu/go/DroneConference, or contact Li at steveli@auburn.edu.