Florida drone camp inspires 4-H teens into agtech careers

A recent drone camp helped Florida high school students learn how to master drone use in agriculture and other industries.

While many of his high school classmates relished the lackadaisical days of summer break, Putnam County resident Liam Sayler memorized Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and the basics of aerodynamics.

But Liam’s tenacity ultimately paid off when he passed an FAA exam, certifying he is qualified to fly a drone.

Liam is one of eight Florida 4-H members who took a drone camp offered by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Putnam County last month.

Some camp participants plan to apply their new skills toward aerial photography jobs in the agriculture, real estate and construction sectors. One of the teens considers the certificate a stepping stone to securing a pilot’s license. Another desires to use drone photography as a firefighter.

 

“I am so proud of these students,” said Wendy Mussoline, director of UF/IFAS Extension Putnam County. “They dedicated a week of their summer to commit to an intensive academic drone training program and obtained their licenses. I believe this experience can truly enhance their future career endeavors.”

A team of UF/IFAS employees taught the class, including Matthew Smith, a commercial crops and food systems agent for UF/IFAS Extension Lake and Orange counties and Joseph “Stacy” Strickland, an agriculture agent for UF/IFAS Extension Osceola County.

The four instructors are certified drone pilots. For the past six years, they have provided drone training for UF/IFAS employees and for state agencies.

The only skills separating the UF/IFAS drone curriculum from that taught to future airplane pilots is fuel management and night flight, said Strickland, a certified airplane pilot.

“This is a job skill,” he said. “These students can go out today with a drone license and start working — and for really good money too. We’ve had students who, after school, would fly a drone and make hundreds of dollars in an afternoon.”

One 4-H member from a past camp applied the money he made as a real estate drone photographer toward paying for his flight hours to become an airplane pilot.

This year, camp instructors arranged for a young entrepreneur to share his expertise.

Lance Dollar, a 2024 graduate of Florahome high school, launched a business using drones to take photographs and videos of agricultural operations, sporting events and property advertised for sale.

Dollar allowed the campers to use his drones, and they practiced take-offs, landings and following square perimeters created by pool noodles. Later, they broke off into two groups; one used the drones to snap aerial photos of the Extension office building as if marketing the property for sale, and the other photographed two adjacent Putnam County Fairgrounds buildings from the sky as if conducting roof inspections.

The Putnam County Soil and Water Conservation District sponsored this year’s camp, supplying $5,500 so students only paid $25 for services valued at $450: The week-long course, lunches, a ride to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the exam campers took on the university’s Daytona campus.

While the next drone camp has yet to be scheduled, Mussoline hopes additional funding will make it possible for more young people to master drone flight and potentially apply their skills to future careers.

— Megan Winslow, UF/IFAS communications