The 4-acre pond Tom and Pat Simons developed roughly 15 years ago on their Carroll County farm is a gathering point for evening boat rides and family activities. 

“We have kayaks and a sand beach,” Tom said last month. “We had a couple of the grandkids down here last night fishing off the kayaks.”

So it isn’t any wonder that the family wants the farm to be at its best for generations to come. With 160 acres of crop ground, Tom is always searching for better and more sustainable ways to operate.

Drone spray technology piqued his interest last year for its precision application capabilities, something Tom had been searching for, especially when spraying fungicides and insecticides on his acres.

 “The farm pond sits in the middle of where we spray, and over the years if the plane isn’t really careful, we get a little drift into the pond. And right south of me I have a half-mile fence, and my neighbor is all organic, so we have to be a little bit careful,” the long-time Carroll County Farm Bureau member ex­­plained.

Tom has been involved with the ...