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May 12, 2025
ANTIGO – Angel Zarda and Scott Houdek said they know firsthand the challenges and rewards of farming, and their shared passion for sustainability and innovation has led them to create Venture Ag Drones, a custom drone aerial application business.
“This technology gives us fresh ways to enhance farm ecosystems for our Central Wisconsin neighbors,” Zarda said. “Aerial application reduces all sorts of problems because we are literally not in the field – we are above it.”
And if crops are not getting run over, Houdek said, “you’re going to be saving money in the long run.”
Houdek and Zarda have deep roots in the Langlade County agricultural community – centered in the area known as the Antigo Flats, home to thousands of acres of potato, grain and dairy farms.
Houdek said he grew up on a family dairy farm and spent nearly a decade working with area potato growers, which is where he met Zarda.
Today, in addition to the drone service, Zarda is involved in a 6,000-acre grain farm in nearby Marathon County, and said she is constantly seeking ways to promote sustainable practices – such as reducing tillage, minimizing chemical use through targeted application and advocating for cover crop rotation to improve soil fertility.
“There was never any path for me except farming,” she said. “These are challenges that excite me.”
Zarda said her grandfather, Don Wirz, is a longtime Antigo area potato grower, while her father, Dave “Squeak” Zarda, transitioned his land into a thriving Christmas tree farm.
She said she has been flying drones recreationally since 2017.
“I wasn’t initially drawn back to farming,” she said, “but my connection with Scott, the pull of family legacy and our shared passion for a more sustainable future ultimately led me back.”
Seeing the future
Zarda said she credits her grandfather with giving them the confidence to jump into the agriculture drone industry.
“He is in his 80s now, but he has never been afraid to try new things and innovate,” she said. “He’s huge into farm technology and saw that drones could provide a solution to problems that potato farmers have had for years, such as soil compaction and disease-spreading sprayer tracks caused by running heavy machinery in the fields. He really has the ability to look forward and see the future.”
Houdek and Zarda said they launched Venture Ag Drones in fall 2024, with two Agras T50 drones.
Spanning 10 feet rotor-tip to rotor-tip, Houdek said each drone features a 10.5-gallon spray tank capacity, 110-pound spreader tank capacity and a maximum takeoff weight of 227 pounds.
The support equipment, he said, includes a double-decker trailer that provides a platform for drone operations along with a generator and tanks for mixing liquid products.
Highly customized, Zarda and Houdek said they fabricated the trailer this past winter.
The drones can apply liquid and granular products from 50 to 500 microns, Houdek said, and application locations can be over trees, crops, pastures and right of ways.
Popular crop types for aerial applications, he said, include corn, potatoes, soybeans and Christmas trees.
“Depending on the gallon rate, each drone can cover up to five acres before it needs to land to refill and swap batteries,” Zarda said. “We fly approximately 10 feet above the crop at 15-22 miles per hour. Each drone can cover up to 40 acres an hour and we can even fly at night.”
That low speed and consistent height, Zarda said, allows very precise aerial application – ideal for Central Wisconsin with a patchwork of small fields intermixed with residences, roads and woodlands.
And, she said, the drones are far more precise and safer than traditional crop-dusters, with pilots forced to dodge power lines and trees.
“Our drones deliver targeted application, ensuring the crop receives the optimal treatment,” Zarda said. “They can fly lower and slower, applying more precise coverage with better penetration down into the crop. By minimizing overspray risk, we reduce our environmental impact and keep neighbors happy.”
More effective
The environmental benefits, Zarda said, are far-reaching.
Aerial application, she said, eliminates the damaging effects of heavy equipment on the soil, leaving no footprint, promoting healthier root development and improving long-term soil health. Zarda said no sprayer tracks on the market today prevent disease spread and reduced yield loss caused by traditional sprayers.
Houdek said early data shows that drone fungicide application can be more effective than conventional methods.
Recently, Houdek said “Successful Farming” magazine looked at a study by Beck’s Hybrids Practical Farm Research, which indicated that drone spraying uses less water, resulting in a lower pH level in the spray solution.
This lower pH, he said, increases the fungicide’s half-life, allowing plants more time to absorb it.
Houdek said the drone vortex also pushes chemicals down under the canopy, enhancing total coverage, including the underside of crop leaves.
Another promising use for drones, Houdek said, involves seeding food plots and cover crops – which promotes healthier soil and reduces wind and water erosion.
Cover crops increase organic material, which he said improves soil structure, water-holding ability, nutrient holding and enhances biodiversity by providing habitat for beneficial insects, pollinators and wildlife.
Houdek said the U.S. Department of Agriculture even has grant programs that pay farmers to implement a cover crop program, which protects and promotes a healthier soil environment.
“One of the biggest factors in agriculture is time and with Wisconsin’s shorter growing season, implementing a cover crop can be difficult,” he said. “We use the drones to seed the field prior to the fall harvest, meaning it can get growing sooner. That improves soil health and reduces erosion.”
Popular cover crops in Central Wisconsin, Zarda said, include radish, rye, clover and triticale.
“Each seed type is individually calibrated for weight and swath and can then be spread into the standing crop prior to harvest in the late summer or in the spring for frost seeding,” she said.
Other applications, she said, include aerial spraying of orchards and Christmas tree farms.
“Drones are particularly useful for applying foliar fertilization and pesticides directly into the tree canopy from above,” Zarda, who continues to grow Christmas trees commercially, said. “This method can provide more meaningful coverage than current ground capabilities allow from below or from the side.”
Cost for aerial applications, the business partners said, depends on many factors – including total acreage, field locations and the amount of chemical or seed to be applied per acre.
“We urge people interested in aerial spraying to contact us directly for a customized quote,” Zarda said. “We will be happy to provide a detailed estimate based on their specific needs.”
Venture Ag Drones holds commercial application licenses through Wisconsin (DATCP). Licenses include: 1.1 Field and Vegetable, 2.0 Forestry, 6.0 Right of Way and Natural Areas, 9.9 Aerial.
Houdek said Venture Ag Drones also holds a Part 137 aerial application license through the Federal Aviation Administration, and all Venture Ag Drones remote pilots hold a Part 107 commercial drone license.
With planting underway in many areas of Central Wisconsin, Zarda and Houdek said this will be a key year for their fledgling company.
“We’ve been received well,” Houdek said. “This will be the year to prove the value of the drones.”
Zarda said she sees “exponential growth” in Venture Ag Drones’ future.
“We follow the research, and we love that data we are seeing,” she said. “Interest is increasing – it just takes time. This must be tested and trusted. With our commitment to sustainability and innovation, we aim to help our clients thrive in today’s competitive landscape.”
For more information on Venture Ag Drones, visit ventureagdrones.com.
