Michigan Wine Growers Turn to Drones for Precision Spraying

Michigan’s grape and wine industry is leaning more heavily on drones, field maps and site-specific spray prescriptions as it tries to improve quality and consistency in the face of climate swings and rising market pressure.

The work is being organized through Dirt to Glass, a statewide platform led by Michigan State University Extension that brings together growers, winemakers, researchers and industry groups around vineyard and winery decisions that can be measured, tested and repeated. The next conference is set for Aug. 20-21 in Traverse City, with registration now open.

At the center of the effort is a simple idea: quality does not begin in the bottle. It begins in the vineyard, where growers are using precision tools to decide when to spray, what to apply and how much to use. MSU researchers say drone-based sprayers can be paired with field maps and prescriptions tailored to specific parts of a block, allowing growers to target inputs more accurately while maintaining crop protection.

That approach is part of a broader shift in Michigan viticulture toward precision management. Instead of treating a vineyard as one uniform field, growers can now identify variation in soil, vine vigor, disease pressure and fruit development, then adjust practices accordingly. The goal is to improve efficiency without sacrificing fruit quality or increasing unnecessary chemical use.

Dirt to Glass was created after industry leaders asked for a statewide forum that could connect technical research with practical decisions in vineyards and wineries. The platform grew out of a 2021 Michigan State University Extension meeting and has since become an annual gathering where the state’s grape and wine sector sets priorities together. Organizers say the model is built by industry but powered by science, with MSU helping turn producer concerns into research questions and decision tools.

The conference has also become a place where precision viticulture is discussed alongside soil health, cultivar selection, disease resistance and wine sensory outcomes. That matters in Michigan, where growers face short seasons, variable weather and disease pressure that can make consistency difficult from year to year. Industry leaders involved in Dirt to Glass say the state can no longer rely on isolated successes from strong vintages alone.

MSU Extension says the planning process is intentionally collaborative. Growers, vineyard managers, winemakers, educators and market-facing stakeholders help shape the agenda through meetings and discussions rather than a top-down program. The aim is to focus on the few issues that can make the biggest difference across the state, rather than scattering attention across too many competing needs.

The drone demonstrations highlighted by MSU are one example of how that strategy is moving from theory to practice. Precision sprayers mounted on drones can deliver treatments based on maps and site-specific prescriptions, which may help reduce waste and improve timing in blocks where disease risk or canopy density varies. Researchers say those tools are most useful when they are tied to clear measurements in the field and followed through to fruit chemistry and wine quality.

Michigan’s wine industry has been trying to strengthen its reputation for quality as competition grows in regional markets. Dirt to Glass has become one way for producers to compare notes on what works under local conditions and how vineyard decisions affect what consumers eventually taste in the glass. The conference also gives growers access to outside experts who can benchmark Michigan practices against other wine regions.

MSU officials say that connection between research and adoption is what gives the platform its value. Rather than presenting science as abstract information, Dirt to Glass uses annual meetings, field demonstrations and technical sessions to show how data can guide everyday decisions. In practice, that means asking not only whether a tool works, but whether it fits Michigan vineyards economically and operationally.

The Aug. 20-21 conference will continue that approach in Traverse City, where organizers expect growers, winemakers and researchers to discuss precision spraying, site-specific management and other tools aimed at improving consistency from vineyard to glass.