Nebraska Firm Selling Drone Technology For Work On The Farm

I just saw a story in the Mitchell Republic about a company in Nebraska that is selling drones for use on the farm.

Yep, pretty soon, it'll be flying drones joining the tractors and combines out in the field.

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Drones are becoming important to agriculture

Volitant Technologies in Dunbar, Nebraska has been selling a lot of flying drones to farmers recently. The crafts are being used to spray chemicals like insecticide and spread seed across the vast averages in Nebraska and South Dakota.

What used to take a lot of time and people is now possible from the kitchen table. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but maybe not for too long.

Imagine all the possibilities for folks running large farms or ranch operations. Flying drones can give them the ability to quickly see what's happening on their land and to get stuff moved around.

Some of the drones that Volitant sell can carry about 10 gallons worth of chemicals. It also runs on its own after the operator sets the parameters. The program decides the best way to deliver the cargo.

It may not be too long before seeing winged-tractors flying over the cornfield of the midwest is just another part of rural life.

Life on a Cattle Ranch in Western South Dakota

Life is different out in the country. One look at the photo from Robin Bickel and you quickly realize that a workday is quite different as well, after all, she lives out west in South Dakota Cattle Country.

Robin Bickel took time to tell KIKN Country a little bit about her life out west and life as a woman, working outdoors with animals and nature in God's Country. Bickel lives and works on a cattle ranch operated by herself, her father, Jack, and his brother Keith. How far out in the country is she? How does 50 miles west of Mobridge, South Dakota sound? Yep, mountain time out there.

Life is so different in Sioux Falls, South Dakota compared to what our friends on the farm and ranches deal with. It's a half-mile to the grocery store for our family. For Robin, it's 17 miles. However, it's a quick step out her door and she's right in the middle of where a lot of the groceries come from.

What Did South Dakota's License Plate Look Like the Year You Were Born?

The first number on a South Dakota license plate is the county that the car is registered. For example, Pennington county where Rapid City is has a '2' starting its plates. In Sioux Falls you have either a '1' or a '44' depending on your relationship to 57th street.

When established in 1956 (and revised in 1987) the first nine counties were ordered by population. Starting with 10 they are in alphabetical order through Ziebach, with Oglala Lakota County (65) and Todd (67) rounding out the list.

Today the top 10 plate numbers and populations don't correlate anymore. 1 and 2 are still 1 and 2, but Lincoln (44) is now 3rd in population. Beadle is 4 but it's now 11th in population. See the list by population here.

On January 1, 2023, South Dakota started issuing a new license plate design for license plates.

So, let's take a look back at what South Dakota license plates looked like over the last 100 years.

Source: Nebraska Firm Selling Drone Technology For Work On The Farm