Farm Progress America, September 17, 2024

Mike Pearson takes a look at drones being manufactured by DGI, a Chinese company and the dangers they could pose to the national security.

More farmers are relying on drones for spraying and scouting in fields.

Some republications have asked the Biden administration to look into DGI over national security concerns.

The Department of Agriculture and the Cyber Security and the Infrastructure Security Agency are being called upon for action.

The concern is that these drones could pose huge risk for the nation's food supply. They center around whether or not the drones can be manipulated into attacks and the data the drones are collecting.

Risks associated with aerosol dispensing drones which lawmakers say could be manipulated into weapons.

The advance sensors are also a concern due to the data they collect about crops and whether or not DGI could gather information about USA crops.

These concerns are not new about DGI. DGI denies the allegations.

A spokesman for DGI sent a press release to Pearson Friday and said they are disappointed that the 12 lawmakers continue to make baseless allegations about the brand and industry leading drones.

DGI is a privately company and are not tied to the Chinese government.

They also claim to obey all privacy laws in every country where the drones are used.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness .