#InnovativeAg: Drone Technology Takes Off on the Farm, with Profitable Potential

Friday, August 7, 2015

To drone, or not to drone, that is the question.

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology is nothing new, but its trip to the farm is a bit of a more recent arrival. And really, the technology is becoming less of a question, and more of a reality for farmers here and afar.

Drones have been used for quite some time now – they’ve inspected pipelines and railroad tracks (especially of help in harsh conditions), they’ve examined out-of-reach power lines, they’ve also been used in the military and by the police, and, of course, just for fun. Though, it’s certainly not just about the fun; the UAVs are proving their research capabilities, and their ability to cut down on costs considerably. For many of these workers and the respective issues they face, they’d previously have to put significant time and resources toward visiting problem spots themselves, but they can now send drones on the mission.

And for quite some time now, drones have been getting agricultural attention for their skill in travelling at ease, capturing helpful vantage points and gathering essential data. An article from the CBC in 2014 mentions farmers using drones to study the topography of their land to better apply fertilizer and pesticides. Currently, a skilled team at the University of Guelph is using drone technology in 3 intriguing research areas (more on this below).

The drones fly overhead and bring back important images that can be analyzed to interpret much-needed information. In addition to gathering this information, indicating problem areas, and, for instance, spots that are more susceptible to damage, they can also pinpoint areas that need more water, and even deter unwanted animals and pests. This ultimately could save farm workers a lot of time and money.

And the time-saving, money-saving flight has already taken off. Earlier this year, PrecisionHawk and Agri-Trend announced they will partner to offer UAV data collection, sensing and analysis tools to farmers in the U.S. and Canada. The partnership will offer UAV services throughout Canada with trained individuals, with hopes to roll out a full commercialization service model in 2016.

Dr. Bill Deen, Associate Professor, Cropping Systems at the University of Guelph, shows us through their research the true complexity and broad capabilities of the technology.

U of G has acquired three drone units: 2 REV4 Lancasters, and 1 REV3 Lancaster from PrecisionHawk. Along with a number of sensors (visual, red/green/NIR, blue/green/NIR, hyperspectral, thermal, and LiDar), they are able to acquire images at a 2.5 x 2.5 resolution, so individual plots, or subplots (rows or plants) can be measured if necessary.

Dr. Deen specifies their three areas of interest:

1) Using drones/sensors to phenotype corn plants in a breeding program and to enable remote measurement of corn black layer (Dr. Liz Lee)

2) Using drones/sensors to measure corn nitrogen status (Dr. Bill Deen)

Dr. Deen adds, “while it is unlikely this information on its own will enable refinement of corn N recommendations, in combination with weather data, and other measures of yield potential, it may be an important piece of the puzzle.”

and, 3) Using drones/sensors to measure the impact of rotation diversity on corn and soybean development and growth

One of the challenges they face is in how to extract plot/subplot data from these images; many of their field trials consist of 50-200+ plots. Ultimately, they want plot data (mean, maximum, minimum, variance), but this can be problematic considering they are dealing with many plots, multiple images and multiple timings – an issue Dr. Deen says any other group trying to use drones to measure field trials will face.

Currently, they are working with Dr. Graham Taylor, U of G Engineering, to develop a software system that will efficiently extract this information.

It’s quite clear some exciting research and developments are coming our way, close to home.

They’re looking into similar UAV assistance south of the border, too; one farmer shares in this article that a drone could help him considerably in monitoring irrigation pipes on his farm, which he currently pays 3 workers to do. It’s said that in the U.S., agricultural use of drones is likely on the rise, previously having been grounded by a lack of federal guidelines that have recently been clarified.

The UAV uses go on, and are likely to grow as the technology becomes more popular. You can watch a video here of a Dublin farmer who successfully herded sheep with a drone, to the disappointment of the unemployed sheepdog.

A Canadian Saskatoon farmer sums it up to the CBC: “This kind of technology can be really beneficial to the farmers and also to consumers because we can grow better crops so we can make more money and so people can get better food.”

We’re eager to see where this innovation in agriculture will take us next! For more information on the University of Guelph and Dr. Deen’s research, be sure to visit their website.

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The GHFFA Action Plan focuses on Five Opportunities for Change.
One of these pillars is Foster Innovation: Encourage and support innovation to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the Golden Horseshoe food and farming cluster. As part of that pillar, we are working to feature a series of Innovation in Agriculture stories. If you have a story idea, get in touch with us so we can share more #InnovativeAg!────────────────────────────────────────────────────────