Drones & Aerial Survey
Drones: Questions Answered
Straight answers to the questions people actually ask.
Including the awkward ones. If something is a genuine limitation of the module we would rather say so here than let it be discovered later.
Questions answered
What people ask about Drones
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Drones is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Illegal aerial application. Mitigated by an explicit legality checker rather than silence. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
Everything included
The full capability list, grouped
Record and plan3
- Operator competence, remote pilot certification and currency tracking
- Operational authorisation management for Specific category flights
- Flight planning with airspace, restriction and permission checking
Operate and monitor3
- Flight logging with duration, area, pilot and aircraft
- Aerial imagery capture planning for crop scouting and mapping
- Orthomosaic and elevation model processing and storage
Comply and evidence3
- Crop scouting workflows with georeferenced findings
- Livestock checking and welfare inspection flights
- Infrastructure and building inspection records
Analyse and improve3
- Aerial application legal position checker by product and purpose
- Permitted aerial operations register — seeding, spreading and approved products
- Insurance, risk assessment and pre-flight checklist records
Detail
The short version
Drones deliver genuine value in mapping, crop scouting, livestock checking and infrastructure inspection, and are legally constrained for pesticide application in a way the marketing rarely makes clear. This module manages operational authorisation, flight planning and logging, imagery processing, and states the aerial application position plainly so investment decisions are not made on a false premise.
Aerial application of plant protection products is prohibited by default under the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012, permitted only under a specific Health and Safety Executive aerial spraying permit and considered case by case. Spreading untreated seed and fertiliser, cover crop seeding, and application of certain organic products and biostimulants are not caught by the same prohibition. Civil Aviation Authority rules govern operator competence, categories and operational authorisation.
Everything Drones records is written into the same platform data spine as every other module, which is why a single entry can satisfy an operational need, a scheme evidence requirement, an assurance clause and a carbon activity line at once. That is the whole design premise: the work is already being done, and it is the recording of it that is duplicated.
How we handle evidence
Where these figures come from
Agrivencia grades every figure it publishes. Primary legislation, official statistics and audit reports are treated as authoritative. Levy body and professional body data is treated as reliable. Commercial trackers and trade press are treated as indicative and labelled as such. Where sources conflict, the conflict is shown rather than resolved silently.
- Authoritative Legislation, statutory instruments, official scheme rules, national audit and public accounts reporting, departmental annual reports and accredited official statistics.
- Reliable Parliamentary committee evidence, peer-reviewed research, independent economic institutes and levy body analysis.
- Supporting Professional bodies, land agents, certification schemes and industry associations.
- Indicative Commercial market trackers and trade press, used for corroboration only and always labelled.
Payment rates, caps and windows in UK farm support change frequently and sometimes without notice. Nothing on this platform is a substitute for the current published scheme rules or for professional advice.
Free download
What UK Drones Can and Cannot Legally Do on a Farm
A practical handbook, written for UK farm businesses, with the sources cited and the working shown. No sales call attached — the guide is the point.
See Drones running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours