Ron Smith 1, Senior Content Director

June 28, 2016

20 Slides

What role will drones play on farms and ranches in the near future? An important one, said speakers at the recent 53rd annual Stiles Farm Foundation field day in Thrall, Texas. The field day is sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and AgriLife Research at the research farm, a not-for-profit, self-supporting institution established by bequest from the late J.V. and H.A. Stiles for the advancement of agriculture and the benefit of all Texans.

In addition to the drone presentation, which included a demonstration, field day participants also heard updates on crop nutrition, sugarcane aphids in sorghum, laws and regulations, horn fly control in cattle, and aquatic weed management.

An awards luncheon featured presentation of scholarships and agriculturalist and ag business professional of the year.  

About the Author(s)

Ron Smith 1

Senior Content Director, Farm Press/Farm Progress

Ron Smith has spent more than 40 years covering Sunbelt agriculture. Ron began his career in agricultural journalism as an Experiment Station and Extension editor at Clemson University, where he earned a Masters Degree in English in 1975. He served as associate editor for Southeast Farm Press from 1978 through 1989. In 1990, Smith helped launch Southern Turf Management Magazine and served as editor. He also helped launch two other regional Turf and Landscape publications and launched and edited Florida Grove and Vegetable Management for the Farm Press Group. Within two years of launch, the turf magazines were well-respected, award-winning publications. Ron has received numerous awards for writing and photography in both agriculture and landscape journalism. He is past president of The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association and was chosen as the first media representative to the University of Georgia College of Agriculture Advisory Board. He was named Communicator of the Year for the Metropolitan Atlanta Agricultural Communicators Association. More recently, he was awarded the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas Plant Protection Association. Smith also worked in public relations, specializing in media relations for agricultural companies. Ron lives with his wife Pat in Johnson City, Tenn. They have two grown children, Stacey and Nick, and three grandsons, Aaron, Hunter and Walker.

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