BISMARCK – Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring has announced the awarding of a $300,000 grant to conduct drone detection of noxious weeds.
“The project will focus on sugar beet and soybean fields in five counties during the 2025 and 2026 growing season, with a focus on amaranth species, including waterhemp,” Goehring said.
A coalition of organizations led by Grand Farm Research and Education Initiative including Thales, iSight Drone Services and North Dakota State University were selected for the project.
The awardee will coordinate with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, county weed officers and landowners when flying drones over fields. Locations found to have detections during the survey will remain confidential and identified at the county level only. The goal of the project is to create a library of images with high confidence in identifying and distinguishing the difference between the different amaranth species and allowing weed control officials to rapidly respond to new infestations.
The funding for this program was authorized by the 69th Legislative Assembly.