In the heart of Kansas, a dynamic collaboration is taking root, poised to redefine the future of agriculture. Kansas State University’s Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics (ID3A) has joined forces with Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems, a company established in 2024 by Heinen Brothers Agra Services. This partnership aims to develop the next generation of precision agriculture technologies, with a particular focus on unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
At the helm of Kelly Hills is Lukas Koch, a Kansas State University alumnus who is steering the company towards becoming a national leader in precision agriculture. Koch emphasizes that while technology has revolutionized farming, the human touch remains irreplaceable. “Farmers still get their boots dirty,” he said, highlighting the need to bring innovations into the hands of those who will implement them.
The collaboration between K-State and Kelly Hills is built on three key pillars: research and development, community engagement, and industry demonstration and technology transfer. Through these pillars, the partners will work together to optimize aerial spraying for crop protection, remote sensing methods, data analytics integration, and autonomous navigation, among other areas. They will also engage agricultural communities, policymakers, and industry stakeholders through educational outreach and technology awareness programs.
One of the company’s most significant assets is its nearly 50,000-square-mile test range and experience with the Pyka Pelican 2, the world’s largest autonomous agricultural aircraft. This, coupled with K-State’s expertise in agriculture and unmanned aerial systems, will enable the partners to work with large data sets collected from farmers’ lands and develop innovative ways to scale up the technology and reduce costs.
Brian McCornack, an ID3A director at K-State, highlighted the company’s ability to connect with on-the-ground farmers, creating excitement and investment that make it easier to partner with farmers and figure out solutions together. Ajay Sharda, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering and an ID3A director, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of making a business case for this technology.
Long-term, the collaboration will result in resources, tools, and education that familiarize, train, and encourage farmers and other interested industry partners in the use of uncrewed aerial systems at scale. This is crucial for a state like Kansas, where agriculture is a significant part of the GDP.
For Koch, this collaboration is a personal journey, allowing him to work with professors he learned from and appreciated, while also serving a state he loves. He envisions a future where K-State and Kelly Hills can work together to bring the transformative power of next-generation agricultural technology to farmers across the world.