Local business uses drones to help farmers with crop dusting
Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Rexburg man owns business that uses drones to spray farmers’ fields
A drone in operation over a Rexburg field Wednesday morning. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
REXBURG – The use of drones in agriculture is becoming increasingly more efficient and helpful for farmers, and that’s exactly what Braden Smith is hoping to capitalize on.
The 35-year-old Rexburg man launched Drone Spray Pro last month, a company that uses drones to spray farmers’ crops. Blue Rock Farms in Jerome is one of his clients, and he gets calls daily from people out of state, due in large part to Elon Musk sharing one of his posts on X.
Most of his clients are people outside the ag industry who are sick of their 9-to-5 jobs.
“They don’t want to be in an office. They want to get out, and they realize they could easily be making $10,000 a month creating their own business,” Smith tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Smith is hosting a demo day in the field east of the Rexburg Temple on May 31 at noon to show locals what the drones can do and how user-friendly they are. See what it’s like in the video above.
Smith grew up working on his family’s 2,000-acre farm. He started looking into drones last year.
“I picked one up and just started using it and it was a game-changer,” Smith says. “This is something that is very new … and there wasn’t anybody in our area doing this, and we decided to do something about it.”
Although he’s been aware of drone usage for several years, Smith says it wasn’t until last year that the technology improved to a point that it made sense for him to get one.
He also sells drones. Other dealers sell a specific brand, but Smith says that’s not what he’s focused on. He wants to sell every brand out there in hopes of satisfying as many customers as possible.
“We’re going to get the rights to them all and let customers decide (which one they like best),” says Smith. “I don’t want to worry about people coming back (with complaints). I feel like having that freedom of choice in one dealer … is a good recipe (for success).”
He and his crew also help with support services, including the required Federal Aviation Administration certification.
His goal is to launch another branch in Oregon soon.
Visit the website to learn more or call (208) 425-2990.
A drone hovering above the ground in Rexburg. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com