With the modern times upon us, everyday things and tasks are rapidly changing. This includes the use of drones in the farming and agricultural world. A large number of farmers have taken to the drone concept to not only make their jobs easier, but to save time, and even money in the long run.
The use of drones was originally adopted by the military years ago. Since then, they have become more widely accepted, and readily available to civilians. Drones are equipped with a GPS enabled autopilot system and a standard camera that is controlled by the autopilot. Software on the ground captures images of what the drone is seeing from the air.
When compared to satellite images, drones offer a much clearer and unobstructed view because they are below the level of the clouds. The use of drones is also way more cost effective than the alternative of using piloted aircrafts. Piloted aircraft can run upwards of $1000 an hour. Drones can be purchased for less than $1000.
There are great benefits to farmers when it comes to the use of drones to obtain detailed views. Seeing the crops from an aerial view can allow farmers to notice patterns of concern such as fungus, irrigation issues, and even pest issues. Multispectral images can be taken to show differences in healthy, striving plants, and those that are not doing quite as well. This will also give farmers the opportunity to identify diseased areas and treat those areas before it spreads to other areas of the land. It also allows them to treat only the diseased areas, rather than spending money to treat the entire area of the crop. Drones can also be set to capture images weekly, daily, or even hourly if desired. This is of great benefit when it comes to pinpointing problem areas or progress after treating certain areas.
The use of drones can result in less irrigation, less use of pesticides, and overall healthier crop output. This benefits alone, are great motivation for the use of drones. Some have expressed concern with replacing human manpower with the use of drones. Rather than viewing it as a threat to jobs due to reduction of manpower, it is important to view the use of drones as progress in the right direction for the farming and agricultural business. Strides that can be of benefit not only to the farming industry, but to consumers as well.
Here is a video showing how drones can help farmers:
