Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are quickly making the transition from being a cool, new toy into a valuable business tool for farmers.

Farmer interest in UAS, or drones, reached a fever pitch at farm shows and conventions during the past two years as researchers and sales representatives touted their potential benefits. But farmers are still learning how to turn what they see from the sky into useful decision-making tools.

"If we can’t make actionable decisions from this data, there’s really not a lot of value," Ryan Bergman, a program coordinator with Iowa State...