UAV-IQ Precision Agriculture — the acronym stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Intelligence — is a small firm, but often brings tens of thousands of “hunters” to farms.

The California company uses drones to release beneficial insects and mites over crops to fight pests.

Thomas Grandperrin, co-founder and business development manager, said there’s a growing acceptance of biological pest control because farmers are being pushed to search for new solutions.

“Pesticides are showing limitations and a lot of active ingredients are being banned,” Grandperrin said.

Beneficials vs. pesticides

Unlike pesticides, beneficial insects and mites don’t leave harmful residues that could contaminate water or harm pollinators and existing natural enemies, Grandperrin said.

“A lot of pesticides will kill not only the target pests, but other organisms. … Chemicals are getting better at targeting specific pests, but this is still an issue,” he said.

Pest populations might develop resistance to pesticides, but they can’t develop resistance to beneficials, Grandperrin said.

Benefits of drones

Releases of beneficials, when using drones, often are comparable in cost to pesticides, or even less expensive, Grandperrin said.

Before drones, a crew would be dedicated to shake containers with beneficials through fields.

“It’s at least 20 times faster to release with the drones than to release manually,” Grandperrin said.

Drones release evenly over crops and can enter acreage that might be challenging for workers due to dense plantings or muddy conditions.

The flying machines also make sense given a worker shortage and rising labor costs, he said.

History of biocontrol

Grandperrin said that augmentative bioculture has been used for thousands of years, but it started to be implemented more in the United States, though on a limited scale, in the 1950s.

Europe had been more forward-thinking with the practice.

In the 1980s, biological pest control spread as more international companies started to operate in the United States, Grandperrin said.

But now there’s a new wave for biocontrol.

“It’s not only the health benefits of not using pesticides, or that it’s more efficient. Sometimes there are no more options,” Grandperrin said.

That’s led to an increase in companies offering biocontrol services.

Regenerative ag

Biological pest control is just one aspect of integrated pest management and regenerative agriculture, where farmers aim to improve the soil and emphasize plant nutrition, Grandperrin said.

The long-term goal is creating a farm ecosystem with much less pressure from pests and disease, he said.

“A lot of pest control can be taken care of by the ecosystem,” Grandperrin added.

About the company

Grandperrin’s fellow co-founder, Andreas Neuman, is a U.S. Air Force veteran. In the military, Neuman implemented new technology, so he was a natural to work with drones in the civilian world.

Neuman developed the foundation for UAV-IQ while in UCLA’s executive master’s degree in business program, then teamed up with Grandperrin, an entrepreneur experienced in ag tech startups.

UAV-IQ became the first firm authorized in California for commercial operations in agriculture, according to the company.

The company has three full-time workers but also uses contractors in the field.

UAV-IQ was selected as one of 10 semi-finalists in the 2024 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge.

The winner will be announced during the Farm Bureau’s convention in Salt Lake City, which is Jan. 19-24.

UAV-IQ

Founded: 2018

Headquarters: Los Angeles

Ownership: Co-founders Andreas Neuman, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and Thomas Grandperrin, an entrepreneur experienced with ag tech startups.

Service: Uses drones to release beneficial insects and mites over crops.

Why drones?: “It’s at least 20 times faster to release with the drones than to release manually,” Grandperrin said.

Website: https://www.uaviq.com/en/home/