# Midwest Drone Applications: 66K Acres, Team Management & Hard Lessons | DroneOn Show Ep 45

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-droneon-show-7309385/midwest-drone-applications-66k-acres-team-management-hard-lessons-droneon-show-ep-45
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-droneon-show-7309385/midwest-drone-applications-66k-acres-team-management-hard-lessons-droneon-show-ep-45.md
Podcast: [The DroneOn Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-droneon-show-7309385)
Published: 2026-04-24T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://the-droneon-show.castos.com/episodes/midwest-drone-applications-66k-acres-team-management-hard-lessons
Audio file: https://episodes.castos.com/6537f5d7c678e0-03541919/2430749/c1e-52or9s774nmf3m72gk-258n19rpfw6z-by1oik.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-droneon-show-7309385/episodes/midwest-drone-applications-66k-acres-team-management-hard-lessons-droneon-show-ep-45
Duration seconds: 3465

## Resource

In this DroneOn Show episode, Mike talks with Josh from Kansas, a former Army veteran who built Midwest Drone Applications into a serious operation covering 66,000 acres in one season with a team of contractors. Josh shares how he got started through drone deer recovery, his wild first T40 season (self-taught in thigh-high grass), the rapid growth from one drone to a fleet, and the infamous J100 rollout that led to multiple in-flight failures. He dives into managing large teams, the power of the DJI ecosystem and Starlink for real-time oversight, why he sticks with T50s and is adding T100s, nighttime spraying, and the military-style discipline his team brings to the job. A raw, honest conversation about scaling fast, learning the hard way, treating customers right, and the future of big-acre drone work in the Midwest.

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## Transcript

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