Takeaways

  • Little need for picking rocks with no-till
  • New technology spots rocks with drones
  • No-tillers use drones for a number of on-farm uses

TerraClear is offering a new service to help you more easily spot “rock picking” opportunities while also delivering a GPS map that farmers can accurately spot the location of rocks that need to be removed from a field.

So why am I jokingly indicating that many no-tillers wouldn’t need such a software product. It’s because:

“No-Tillers Don’t Grow Rocks.”

Since conventional tillage or minimum tillage doesn’t take place with no-till, most rocks hiding underground never move to the surface. So no-tilling over them is usually not a concern. However, the new technology could be useful on new land that hasn’t been previously been no-tilled.

TerraClear rock picking drone

No-tillers are using drones for crop scouting, field mapping chores, fertilizing, spraying pesticides and seeding cover crops. Photo Credit: TerraClear

Big Savings On Labor

Yet this new “rock picking” technology is being used by some no-tiller such as Nathan Tebbe of Tipton, Ind. In a recent Indiana Prairie Farmer article, he explained how he has used the service. 

He has found that if rocks are less than 7 inches in size, they don’t show up on the field map. By clicking on the dot that corresponds to a rock shown on the map, he can see the drone image and document the exact size of the rock.

Tebbe found the best time to use this technology is in early spring after the previous no-till crop’s residue has decomposed over the winter.

TerraClear Rock Pile

TerraClear combines the latest in rock picking technology combines drone imagery and machine-learning to tackle rocky fields. Photo Credit: TerraClear

“Wait until early spring after the no-till residue has decomposed over the winter…”

How Are No-Tillers Using Drones?

Based on data from the 2025 No-Till Farmer Operational Benchmark Study, no-tillers are making extensive use of drones:

  • 29% use drones for seeding cover crops.
  • 29% use drones for applying insecticides.
  • 26% use drones for applying herbicides.
  • 24% use drones for scouting crops.
  • 12% use drones for applying fungicides.
  • 9% use drones for applying fertilizer.

Some 32% report using drones for other uses while only 6% of the surrey responding no-tillers indicate they are not using drones in their operations.