Posted November 26, 2013
The use of drone technology in agriculture has recently become a topic of interest at universities and agriculture groups across the country.
A forum examining the use of drone technology in agriculture will take place in Oregon on December 9, according to a Capital Press article available here.
Jeff Lorton, economic development manager for Yamhill County, the center of Oregon’s wine industry, arranged the forum to introduce the concept to farmers, vineyard operators and nursery managers. Lorton believes that the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), equipped with cameras and sensors can benefit agriculture, forestry, and wildlife management.
Potential uses in agriculture include “flying over nurseries to do inventory and identifying areas of plant damage, disease or irrigation problems.” Larger drones could also carry pesticides, which is now being tested at vineyards in California’s Napa Valley.
North Carolina is also testing drone use in agriculture, according to a News Observer article available here. N.C. State University and its transportation research centers are “working to make the state a leader in UAV technology before 2015, the year UAVs may officially assume their place in national airspace.
“Studies show the big thing UAVs can support is improving yield predictions,” said Kyle Snyder director of the NextGen Air Transportation Center at N.C. State’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education.
Drones are also being used in Oklahoma agriculture, according to a News 9 article available here. John Collison, of Oklahoma Farm Bureau, said, he sees a “huge market” for UAV use in the future.
Dr. Charlie Rush, a Texas A&M AgriLife plant pathologist in Amarillo, is using helicopter drones to track disease progression across wheat fields to eventually help producers make better irrigation decisions, according to an AgriLife article available here.
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