In Gallatin County, Montana, where malting barley, winter wheat, and seed potatoes dominate the landscape, drone-based multispectral imaging has become essential for tasks like winter wheat kill assessment, Potato Virus Y (PVY) detection, malting barley health mapping, plant stand counts, and variable rate nitrogen maps. But many farmers face a key decision: should you buy and operate your own drone, or partner with a professional drone mapping service?
Both paths have merits, but the full ownership process involves far more than just flying. Below, we compare the complete workflow, costs, and important security factors to help you decide.
The Full Process (and Hidden Work) of Owning Your Own Drone
Purchasing a capable multispectral drone is just the beginning. Here's what the end-to-end process typically requires:
- Acquisition and Setup
Invest in a drone platform, multispectral sensor, batteries, and accessories. Ensure it meets regulatory standards. - Flight Operations
Obtain necessary certifications, plan missions (considering weather, overlap, altitude), and execute safe flights over your fields. Understand complex FAA charts to ensure airspace compliance and/or the FAA waiver process. - Post-Flight Processing
- Stitching: Combine thousands of overlapping images into seamless orthomosaics.
- Radiometric Calibration: Correct for lighting and sensor variations.
- Index Calculation: Apply the right vegetation indices (e.g., NDVI, NDRE) for meaningful insights.
- Analysis: Interpret data, create zones, and generate prescription maps.
- Export: Format outputs for farm management software like John Deere Operations Center or Climate FieldView.
This processing demands powerful computer hardware (high-end CPU/GPU, ample RAM, fast storage) to handle massive datasets - files often run into hundreds of gigabytes per flight. Many owners also subscribe to professional-grade photogrammetry and GIS software, with annual costs adding up quickly.
Time commitment is significant: what looks like a quick flight can turn into days of processing and troubleshooting, especially while learning the workflow.
Hiring a Professional Drone Mapping Service: Streamlined and Expert-Driven
Services like Overwatch Land Mapping handle everything - from mission planning and flight execution to advanced processing, analysis, and delivery of ready-to-use maps (shapefiles, GeoTIFFs, prescription files). You receive polished, actionable outputs without touching the software or hardware.
Key Comparison: Ownership vs. Service
| Aspect | Owning Your Own Drone | Hiring a Professional Service |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Costs | High (drone, sensor, accessories, computer upgrades) | None - you pay per job or season |
| Ongoing Costs | Software subscriptions, hardware maintenance, training | Predictable service fees |
| Time Investment | Significant (learning curve + processing) | Minimal - you focus on farming |
| Expertise Required | Steep (flight skills, data science) | Provided by the service |
| Flexibility | Full control over timing | Scheduled around optimal conditions |
| Deliverables | Variable quality based on your skill | Consistent, professional-grade results |
| Scalability | Best for very large or frequent operations | Ideal for most acreages and targeted flight timing |
For many Gallatin County operations, the total cost of ownership (including time away from core farming) exceeds the expense of professional services - especially when you factor in trial-and-error phases.
Data Security: A Critical Consideration
National security concerns around drone technology have grown significantly. Many popular consumer and prosumer drones (e.g. the Mavic 3M) route flight logs, images, and field data through servers in China when connected to companion apps or cloud features - even if flown offline, syncs can occur later.
In contrast, professional services like Overwatch Land Mapping prioritize a fully NDAA-compliant end-to-end process. We invest in higher-cost drones, sensors, and software from trusted manufacturers that keep your sensitive farm data (crop health, field boundaries, yield potential) entirely within secure, NDAA compliant systems (at the time of this writing).
Notably, DJI - one of the most common drone brands - has been affected by the FCC's addition of foreign-made drones and components to its Covered List due to national security risks.1
For growers handling valuable intellectual property - like seed potato fields or malting barley contracts - keeping data secure and domestic is increasingly important.
Which Path Is Right for You?
If you manage thousands of acres with daily drone needs and enjoy the technical side, ownership might make sense long-term. For most Gallatin County farmers, however, hiring a professional service delivers better results, saves time and money, and provides peace of mind through secure, compliant operations.
Overwatch Land Mapping, your local agricultural drone pilot in Gallatin County, specializes in turning high-resolution multispectral data into practical insights tailored to Montana conditions.
Ready to explore drone mapping without the ownership hassle? Contact us today for a free consultation - we'll review your fields and discuss your operational goals to tailor our services.
Schedule a free consultation to discuss how precision ag drone mapping can work for your operation.
Footnotes
- FCC Covered List and December 2025 Update on Foreign UAS: https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist ↩