A drone flies over a farm field as part of a Grand Farm project to use drones to scout for weeds. A North Dakota Department of Agriculture grant will help continue the work. (Courtesy of Grand Farm)
A state-funded program will use drones and artificial intelligence to scout for noxious weeds in five North Dakota counties.
The North Dakota Department of Agriculture last week announced the award of a $300,000 grant for drone scouting in the 2025 and 2026 growing seasons. The project aims to help weed control officials respond to new infestations quickly.
Grand Farm, a research organization with a campus near Casselton, is taking the lead on the project.
Nathan Marcotte, senior program manager of technology and innovation at Grand Farm, said the state grant helps continue a first phase of the project that involves teaching an artificial intelligence system what a weed looks like by feeding it hundreds of photos of the plants at different growth stages and other variables, such as different times of the day.
Marcotte said researchers will be working with farmers and weed officers in five southeastern counties — Barnes, Cass, Richland, Steele and Traill. The project will focus on soybean and sugar beet fields.
Marcotte said an initial phase of the project targeted Palmer amaranth, an herbicide-resistant weed with a limited presence in North Dakota but with the ability to spread quickly. The next phase will build on that work, he said.
“The focus is, within those five counties, to build up a weed image library and model so it can detect more than just Palmer amaranth,” Marcotte said.
Fields found to have weeds will remain confidential and identified at the county level only, the Ag Department said.
The funding for this program was approved during the 2025 North Dakota legislative session.
Grand Farm is leading the research project partners including Thales, an aerospace company, iSight Drone Services that provides the drones, and North Dakota State University.
Marcotte said landowners will be advised of any drone flyovers before they take place. Farmers and property owners interested in participating in the project can email info@grandfarm.com.
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