Despite embracing drones, farmers still have cybersecurity concerns
Eighty-three percent of respondents use drones on their farms either daily or once a week or more.
Seventy-six percent of the 269 U.S. farmers surveyed by Munich Reinsurance America Inc. have concerns related to drone usage: privacy issues (23%) topped the list, followed by cybersecurity concerns over data captured and transferred (20%) and potential damage or injury from the drone (17%).
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A new way to survey the land
While drone popularity among farmers continues to grow — the survey found that 74% are currently using or considering adopting the technology to assess, monitor and manage their farm — concerns continue to mount, especially in the realm of emerging technology.
Of those who currently use the technology, it is nearly split between farmers who contract with an outside company to operate their drones (49%) and farmers who handle drone usage on their own (51%). Eighty-three percent of respondents use drones on their farms either daily or once a week or more. Drones are used for or considered being used for crop monitoring (73%), soil and field analysis (46%) and health assessment of crops and livestock (43%).
“Whether a farm has less than 100 or more than 5,000 acres, drones can be the eyes and ears for farmers that want to efficiently and cost-effectively monitor and manage crops, livestock and soil conditions,” Jason Dunn, strategic products expert for Munich Reinsurance America, said in a statement. “However, farmers may be exposing their business to new risks related to drone usage, and their insurance coverage may not have kept pace with the rapid development and use of this technology.”
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Methodology
This online survey was conducted by Qualtrics, which conducts research to capture customer, product, brand and employee experience insights, in April 2018 and is intended to represent the views of 269 U.S. farmers who participated.