What should I buy first?
Start with the affordable setup that fits your acres and avoid equipment that solves the wrong problem.
Drones Over the Back Forty
A Midwest Farmer's Guide to Seeing What Your Eyes Simply Can't
A practical field guide for farmers who want drone data to answer real questions: where to scout, what changed, what matters, and whether the next pass across the field will pay.
- 19
- chapters
- 9
- appendices
- 6x9
- paperback
The drone is the easy part. The decision is the work.
This book keeps the technology tied to field judgment, economics, and ground truth. It is written for operators who need useful answers, not another pile of pretty maps.
When is a flight worth it?
Use timing, crop stage, and weather to separate useful imagery from expensive noise.
What does the map mean?
Read RGB, NDVI, NDRE, thermal, and multispectral patterns without pretending the map is a diagnosis.
What happens next?
Turn aerial evidence into scouting routes, nitrogen decisions, drainage checks, and variable-rate conversations.
Built in the order a first season actually unfolds.
The book moves from economics and FAA basics into sensor science, flight planning, map interpretation, and practical in-season applications for Midwest row crops.
- Part OneWhy This Matters
- Part TwoThe Science Made Simple
- Part ThreeFlight Operations
- Part FourPractical Applications
- Part FiveMaking It Work
Companion resources for the field.
Printable checklists, field cards, worksheets, and website-only companion material are available for readers. The QR code printed in the book points readers straight to this resource library.
Open resources page