The Spray Drone End User Conference 2026 marked the transition of the U.S. agricultural drone market into a phase of operational maturity. It was at this event that Futurology as a Platinum Partner introduced its agricultural division, XAG Agrifuture.
The new division is focused on building a complete operational model for agricultural drone use — from fleet integration into field processes to service infrastructure, operator training, and the scaling of solutions in real production environments. This approach clearly differentiates pilot implementations from full-fledged operating models, in which agricultural drones function season after season as a reliable production tool on U.S. farms.
The establishment of the agricultural division is a direct response to the irreversible transformation of American agriculture, where rising input costs, labor shortages, and growing requirements for efficiency and environmental responsibility demand not just the adoption of individual tools, but a fundamental shift in the operational logic of agricultural production.
“Farmers are not looking for new technologies — they are looking for solutions, for a simpler way to work in an increasingly complex reality. When the season is compressed into a few critical days and a mistake can cost an entire harvest, the solution must not be ‘innovative,’ but reliable. Agrodrones should take on routine tasks, risk, and operational constraints so that farmers can focus on results. That is when technology stops being an expense and starts scaling production,” — says Valerii Іakovenko, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Futurology.
During numerous expert discussions at the Futurology booth, one conclusion became clear: most operational challenges related to agrodrones already have solutions. These solutions were forged in markets where technology was forced to operate under real pressure — tight seasons, economic constraints, and limited resources.
For this reason, the Futurology team placed particular emphasis at SDEUC on the experience of emerging markets, treating them as large-scale field tests of technological viability. These markets were the first to move from rapid adoption of agricultural drones to stable operating models, where reliability and predictability of outcomes became the primary benchmarks.
This experience highlights a critical reality: scaling is impossible without service infrastructure and trained operators. Where agrodrones have become everyday tools, new professions have emerged, along with clear service standards, uptime requirements, and operational accountability. These factors are now becoming decisive for the U.S. agricultural market.
This logic was explored in depth during a presentation by Vladimir Gaplik, Head of the Agricultural Division, titled “From Rapid Adoption to Reliable Operations: What Emerging Market Experience Means for the U.S.” The presentation focused on practical lessons in scaling agrodrones, explaining why service, local support, operator training, and operational control are now more important than individual platform specifications.
“Treating an agricultural drone as a standalone solution is flawed logic. In reality, what works is a complete system: people, service, logistics, planning, and data. In emerging markets, we have seen dozens of cases where the same technology produced very different results — depending entirely on whether an operating model was in place. This distinction is becoming decisive for the U.S. today,” — emphasizes Vladimir Gaplik.
Another strong indicator of market maturity was the growing focus on the profession of the agricultural drone operator. The conference clearly showed that without systematic workforce training, agrodrones cannot function as infrastructure. That is why XAG Agrifuture is already investing in the training and certification of technical specialists, laying the groundwork for stable fleet operations in real field conditions.
“Agrodrones have already proven their effectiveness across millions of hectares worldwide. But for this technology to work at scale, an operating system is required — trained operators, reliable service, and clear field procedures. Through XAG Agrifuture, we are building a full infrastructure for agrodrone deployment, ensuring the technology performs season after season. This is where investment must go if we are serious about scaling agrodrones in the U.S.,” — notes Valerii Іakovenko.
An important element of the XAG Agrifuture operating model was the opening of the First XAG Authorised Training Center in the United States, focused on training technicians to work with agricultural drone fleets in real field conditions. This is not basic training, but the development of standardized engineering and service expertise required for the stable, season-long operation of agricultural drones and full lifecycle management. Agrifuture became the first distributor in North America entrusted by the XAG brand to conduct official dealer training at this level.
The first Agrifuture training cohort has already certified 15 technical specialists, each capable of supporting at least 10 agrodrones per season. This model enables the operation of 150 drones, capable of processing up to 1.5 million acres annually, including conditions where traditional equipment cannot access fields due to weather limitations.
The practical impact of agrodrones is measurable. With an average U.S. corn yield of approximately 179 bushels per acre, the elimination of technological tracks alone provides around 5% yield growth without increasing application costs. At fleet scale, supported by just the first group of certified specialists, this translates into tens of millions of dollars in additional value for the U.S. agricultural economy.
The Spray Drone End User Conference 2026 confirmed that agricultural drones are firmly transitioning into the category of agricultural infrastructure, and that the U.S. market has entered the phase of operational scaling. The future of the industry is shaped not by isolated technologies, but by complete, reproducible operating models.
