Drone Seeding Takes Flight

Friday, November 21, 2025

Advancing cover-crop planting efficiency through drone trials

By Mary Loggan

For decades, farmers have adapted their equipment and practices to establish cover crops efficiently within the tight window between harvest and winter.

Now, drones are emerging as a new tool for seeding directly into standing crops, offering speed and flexibility. Researchers and farmers across Ontario are putting this technology to the test – not just as a concept, but as a practical tool in everyday field management.

Better Farming connected with Jake Munroe, soil management specialist (field crops) with the OMAFA, to discuss his experience with drone seeding as part of the Living Lab – Ontario innovation project, which is coordinated by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association.

Drones in the field

Munroe and his team recently completed their second year of on-farm evaluations.

“We are working with cooperating farmers and service providers to investigate the effectiveness of drones in establishing cover crops in standing corn and soybeans,” he explains.

Over the past two Septembers, they established replicated trials at 12 Ontario sites – six corn and six soybean fields. All were seeded with a DJI Agras T50 drone.

At some farms, drone seedings were compared directly with traditional methods such as seed drills or spinner-spreaders. At others, different cover crop species were seeded by drone to gauge which performed best.

The early results highlight some clear advantages.

“Drones provide the advantage of seeding cover crops into standing crops without doing crop damage,” Munroe notes. “Late-season interseeding can give cover crops a jump and take advantage of early fall heat rather than waiting until after harvest for seeding.”

He points to one site in particular where drone-seeded rye showed promise.

“At one of the corn fields that we seeded into last September, the rye seeded by drone was more advanced going into winter than that seeded by drill or spinner-spreader,” Munroe says.

“It produced greater overall biomass at the time of termination the following spring than the traditional seeding methods.”

Operational convenience is another major selling point.

“Many growers report that they don’t have the time or the availability of seeding equipment to prioritize cover crop seeding in the fall. Seeding by drone can enable coordination to be done in September, before the busyness of harvest; it can be custom-hired, and it frees up the drill to focus on winter wheat seeding.”

Drone technology is also becoming more accessible as adoption grows.

“We have seen that current drone technology – which is rapidly evolving – is fairly efficient at spreading seed. And now, as adoption is increasing, in many parts of Ontario, farmers can find a custom operator to do drone seeding for them,” Munroe explains.

When it comes to species, cereal rye stands out as the go-to option.

“The best-suited species for late-season interseeding into corn and soybeans is cereal rye. It is inexpensive, can establish quite late into the season, and catches reasonably well when broadcast.”

Spring cereals such as oats may also fit if seeded early enough.

“They can catch fairly well with broadcast applications and provide some residue for erosion protection over winter,” Munroe notes, although timing proved to be the determining factor. “Oat growth was less than optimal at sites last year when seeded on Sept. 26.”

Other options have been less successful.

“In the Living Lab – Ontario drone seeding activity, we looked at red clover as an option into soybeans last year.

“It did not catch well at any of the three sites it was tried,” Munroe reports. “Residual herbicides and late planting windows were likely factors in that outcome.”

Challenges

Despite the excitement, Munroe emphasizes that drone seeding has limitations.

“The biggest drawback to drone-seeding is that it is a broadcast application,” he says.

“It relies on timely rainfall afterward to get the seed germinated and plants established before the seed is consumed by insects or animals, damaged, or no longer viable.”

This dependency on moisture and other environmental conditions can produce uneven stands.

“Though the drone-seeded rye produced the greatest overall biomass by spring, its establishment was more variable – patchier – than rye seeded by drill,” he notes.

Timing is another critical factor.

“It is beneficial to apply seed before too much leaf drop, as the leaves can interfere with seed-to-soil contact.

“Leaves also help form a mulch to retain moisture if they fall on top of seed after it is broadcast.”

His team deliberately tested different seeding dates this fall to refine recommendations – one in early September and another later in the month – to see how crop stage and canopy conditions interacted with establishment.

Field management also plays a role.

“No-till and minimal tillage systems appear to pose challenges, in particular due to higher levels of surface residue, which can reduce seed-to-soil contact and harbour high levels of slugs that can feed on seedlings.”

Documenting tillage history at each trial site has been a key component of the Living Lab project, aimed at better understanding this variable.

The underlying issue, Munroe stresses, is consistency.

“The consistency of establishment by drone seeding is still unknown. A large part of the success comes down to the timeliness of seeding with respect to crop stage and rainfall, but there are other factors at play.”

The road ahead

Looking forward, Munroe sees drone technology as both exciting and evolving, but expects its place in agronomy to be refined over time.

“I suspect there will be a lot of interest, especially from the younger generation, in engaging with this technology and adopting it on the farm.”

Rapid improvements in drone design and efficiency are accelerating adoption.

“Drone technology already has and is likely to continue improving immensely in terms of capacity and efficiency – this will likely drive adoption,” Munroe explains.

But he cautions against overselling the tool.

“The fundamental challenge will be that drone applications are broadcast applications, which are inherently inconsistent as compared to using a drill or air seeder.”

At the same time, the momentum is impossible to ignore.

“There is a certain ‘wow’ factor right now with how rapidly the technology has evolved and what it can do. In the years ahead, I see the industry figuring out exactly where drones fit best and where they can be economical and successful consistently.”

Funding for the project was provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Labs program in partnership with Beef Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario Pork, and Ontario Sheep Farmers. BF