Farmers are increasingly using drones and satellite images to monitor their fields. Cameras that detect light invisible to the human eye can reveal which parts of a field are under stress from lack of water, disease or poor soil. With this information, farmers can apply water and fertiliser only where they are needed, instead of treating the whole field equally. This approach, often called precision agriculture, can reduce costs and limit the amount of fertiliser that runs off into rivers. However, the equipment and software can be expensive, and farmers need training to interpret the data correctly. As a result, adoption has been faster on large farms than on small ones. To make the technology more accessible, some agricultural cooperatives buy drones collectively and share them among members. In some regions, service companies offer to fly drones and analyse the images for a fee, so that individual farmers do not need to buy equipment. Even so, experts caution that data alone cannot improve harvests; farmers' own knowledge of their land remains essential for making good decisions.

Some agricultural cooperatives share drones among their members.