Manashtash Ridge

Key Metrics and Takeaways

Project type: Seeding
Project date: 3/15/24
Seed type: Blend of five native grass seeds
Acres seeded: 4.2 acres
Total flight operations: 70 minutes

We seeded a steep hillside for roughly one-fifth the cost of the terrestrial alternative. The drone also achieved a more even seed spread than would have been possible human spreaders trying to navigate the hillside. After the job was completed, we provided the landowner with full documentation of the work we completed, including where we seeded and the amount of seed per acre that was delivered.

Project Description

Manashtash Ridge burned during the summer of 2023. To prevent invasives from taking root in the now fallow field, the landowner wants to seed it with native grasses. Due to the steepness of hillside, it is not possible to use terrestrial vehicles (ATVs/UTVs). The only remaining terrestrial option is walking the area with with hand cranked spreaders. Accounting for the size of the area (4.2 acre area), the terrain, and the large number of round-trips to a staging area to reload spreaders, it is estimated this would take roughly 96 man-hours of laborious and injury-prone work. At an industry prevailing rate of $22/hr, doing this terrestrially would cost around $2,100, plus mobilization and seed costs.

The landowner reached out to us to instead explore using drones. Since this is a relatively new capability for us, we agreed to conduct a proof of concept. The objective was to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost savings of seeding with a drone. It was also an opportunity to do some further testing to refine our methodologies.

After some initial testing to adjust distribution settings on the drone to the desired pounds per acre, we seeded the 4.2 acres in 70 minutes. This would be roughly a $400 project for us, plus the same mobilization and seed costs. In other words, one-fifth of the terrestrial cost. As you’ll see below in the Project Documentation, the drone was able to fly its normal grid pattern over this steep and rocky terrain, delivering a nice even spread of the seed.

The customer was very happy with the results and the speed at which we were able to complete the project. It was a successful day for us as well, we also walked away with a number of improvements we can make to further increase our efficiency on seeding jobs in the future.