Future Of Agriculture

We made it to episode 200! Drones have become a sort of symbol for modern ag technology whether over-hyped or legitimate. Michael Ott, CEO of Rantizo, proves that there is little room to be a drone skeptic anymore. Rantizo uses drones with a ten foot boom sprayer to spray, seed and sometimes even pollinate crops. Their main customers are retailers interested in expanding their territory by virtue of ease of application and mobility of equipment.   “We can get into fields where nobody else can….We’re doing a demo tomorrow, it’s going to be super sloppy and muddy. That’s totally fine. We can get out and apply in those situations.” - Michael Ott   The inputs carried by the drone are tailored to keep its weight below 55 pounds. At this weight, Michael says he “can train pretty much anyone to be an operator” through a 2-3 day course. The drone flies itself requiring the operator to only hold the controller rather than actively maneuver the drone. The light weight does result in multiple trips to refill tanks t