Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing a policy change that could expand the use of drones for pesticide application, with consultations closing Wednesday, March 25.
The proposal would allow drones to apply products already registered for aerial use, provided applications follow existing label requirements, including water volumes and use conditions. Rather than requiring new drone-specific registrations, the approach would enable drones to operate under current aerial labels.
Markus Weber, with the Canadian Agricultural Drone Association (CADA) and Landview Drones, says the proposal is designed to build on existing science and regulatory frameworks. “As long as you’re applying under the same circumstances… you can now legally do that by drone,” he says.
Weber notes that the change would mean products with aerial labels could be used by drone without additional approvals, though there would still be opportunities for companies to pursue drone-specific labels where new use cases exist.
The proposal is a policy shift, not a full regulatory overhaul, meaning it focuses on how existing labels are interpreted rather than creating entirely new rules. However, provincial governments will still play a key role, as they are responsible for applicator certification and training. Several provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, are already working on updated drone certification programs.
As the consultation period closes, Weber says input from farmers will be important in informing PMRA’s decision. “I think a lot of what PMRA wants to hear… is how farmers are actually going to use it and how it’s valuable to them,” he says.
Click here to submit your feedback on the PMRA proposal.
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Thanks. Nice to see you, Amber.
So this is some pretty big news.
Oh, it's huge news. Last time we talked, I was talking about how there might be news in a few years, but it's very timely.
Right, so before we dive right into that, why don't you first tell us what the Canadian Agricultural Drone association is, because this is a fairly new organisation, right?
Yep, absolutely. So, caida, the Canadian Agricultural Drone association, just was formed last year. It's a number of different industry players, academics, farmers involved. We. We've got a board that spans people from BC to Nova Scotia, all the way across the country. Everybody interested in ag drones in some respect. Some of them are in relation to spray drones, some are in relation to imaging drones, thermal drones. We have quite an assortment of people on the board itself and then also in the membership. So the idea is organisation to bring together everybody that has an interest in using drones on farms, regardless of whether it's the specific use is spraying. But of course, right now the biggest interest is in spraying and the real trigger for us last year was there. There was some frustration that there wasn't much progress here in Canada on the regulatory front and we kind of wanted to have a say in that. We're not going to take any credit for what Health Canada is doing right now. That's Health Canada's initiative and we're very happy that it's time to. But that was kind of the. The impetus for doing it now was we wanted to do some lobbying or some advocating for the use of drones in agriculture.
Now, why don't you give us an overview of what these regulatory changes are that PMRA is looking at.
Sure. So their proposal is to essentially allow drones to apply pesticides based on the existing aerial labels. So that means the same restrictions as currently would be there for a manned aircraft applying a pesticide. As long as you're applying under the same circumstances, same water rate, all those types of things, you can now legally do that by drone. If they move on that proposal, it's a policy change that they're proposing. So I don't think there's deep regulatory changes necessary. But simply allowing drones to apply at aerial label rates makes it simple because it's applied across all the existing. Existing labels that already have a lot of science behind them in terms of their safety to the humans, to the environment and efficacy for farm use as well, so that they're valuable to the farm community.
Now, would you say drone technology is at a place where we're ready to be spraying chemicals on cropland, you know, large scale?
Oh, yeah. The drones in the last few years have grown in the time I've been doing this, so we've been selling drones for 11 years, but only last four years has really been spray drones. Before that they were in their infancy. We've grown from an 8 litre model to a 100 litre model this year and the speeds have gone from 30 kilometres an hour a lot of the time in the first year to 72 kilometre an hour. Spray speeds, widths have gone. I could go on and on. Ultimately, the acreage coverage is what matters. And we're now at a point where this year's drone, the Agris T100, is, is by far the most popular. It'll do 75 acres in an hour. And so we're at the scale now where people could buy two of these drones and spray a quarter section in a little over an hour. So the technology is there to do that kind of scale. And while that was happening, there was also a maturing of the spray technology, so that most of the drones now have gone from a flat fan nozzle, a regular hydraulic nozzle like you would see on a ground sprayer, to an atomizer system. And they're getting more uniform droplet size and most importantly, the ability to adjust droplet size to adjust to wind conditions changing. So all that technology has been maturing to the point where these drones really are capable of spraying full field now, rather than just spot spraying.
So with the PMRA regulation changes, would that effectively remove the need for individual product registrations for drones, or would there still be some regulatory gaps?
It doesn't remove the opportunity to get drone specific labels. And we actually see some opportunities there where that may still become very viable. Now, I'll take one example. There's granular products for insecticide, which currently can't be applied by air, I presume, largely because it wasn't very feasible to do that by air or in the Maritimes, for example. There's lots of need for herbicides to be applied in Christmas tree farms, as an example, but there's no area label for that because it really wasn't feasible to be doing that by a large aircraft. But with drones, a lot of those things become feasible. So there will still be that avenue for a registrant, a chemical company, to apply for a drone specific label. The work that's been going on for the last few years has helped to build that process for them to do that. But it doesn't become necessary for any of the existing aerial labels. All of those essentially get grandfathered. And if this proposal succeeds, and there wouldn't be anything necessary for a drone specifically to apply those products, those become part of the portfolio.
Right off the bat, are there any concerns around how label requirements like buffer zones or droplet size translate to drone application?
There are definitely some things where a drone is different and we teach a clinic. And I always make the point that a drone is a different deposition method from everything else. It's not a helicopter, it's not a fixed wing, it is a different way of spraying. And because of that, I mean, there are opportunities to use that to its benefit, and there's also drawbacks to that. The bottom line is, though, none of it is more risky in terms of risk to the environment or humans than it is by manned aircraft. And that's what some of the evidence coming from some of the larger trials are showing.
What would we be looking at when it comes to federal and provincial legislation? And would there be any possible confusion for growers when it comes to that?
There is definitely a need. Now, if this, if the federal government proceeds with this, there will be a need for provinces to finish off some of the work they've already been doing towards drone specific pesticide certification. Because of the way our federal system works, the PMRA is responsible for approving a label, but the provinces are responsible for certification and training. And we have had an exam here in Alberta that's currently. Excuse me, that currently is being reworked and we expect there will be a new exam soon. Saskatchewan, Manitoba have also said that they're working on certification exams and are releasing something this spring as well. So there's definitely a need for the provincial governments to, to now complete their work. But many of them have started that work already. It's not like they need to start it afresh.
And what is the Canadian Agricultural Drone association doing right now in order to engage with the consultation?
So we've been engaging farm organisations largely and just growers directly. Many of the people involved in CADA sell drones, have lists of people that are interested. In our case, we've had, I think 3,000 people go through some of our schools. We're reaching out to them and encouraging them to have their say by participating and providing their input to government on what they'd like to see in terms of spray drones. And then we've also reached out to some of the farm organisations who are also formulating their input to PMRA themselves and encouraging some of their members to provide that input. It doesn't need to be fancy input. I mean, I think a lot of what PMRA wants to hear from the farm community at least, is how farmers are acting, actually going to use it and how it's valuable to them. So some of the things like, you know, tight spray windows or wet fields, if you've got wet fields and you can't get into those with your high clearance, I now want to use my drone to do that. The whole effect of not trampling the crop when you're spraying with a drone, because it is an aerial tool, all those kinds of things. We're hoping that farmers will provide input on exactly why they would want to use a drone in their business.
Right. Reduced compaction I could see as being a really big, big reason for it.
Absolutely, yeah. Here in western Canada, a big one too, is desiccating of crops as well. Right. Because at that point the high clearance sprayer really is trampling pure Yield and that's 2 to 3% of a field often. So that's one of the big uses. And then the other one, the other two big ones that I see, one is fungicides, simply because it is a nice small tool, lets you variable rate fungicide as well. So that you're only applying fungicide in parts of the crop where you've got good yield and because of its size, it's easier to do than with a large sprayer. And then the other is brush control and pasture.
And so with that March 25 deadline approaching, what would you say is the most important message farmers should be sending to the pmra?
I mean, one of my customers put it well, he said it's about time is what they wanted to tell PMRA that they feel this is long overdue. But I think it's important when they're providing input that they also be a little bit more nuanced and tell PMRA how they intend to use it and why that's important to their farm financially, sustainability wise environment, safety to the operator. Give some real reasons for why you think it's an important tool for farm use.
Right. Well, I want to thank you so much for joining me, Marcus. And that was Marcus Weber on Real Agriculture. For the latest ag news, agronomic advice and more, Cheque out, realagriculture. Com and RealAg Radio.