Benefits of Drones in Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems

Drone technology of farming has been around for decades. With the invention of newer, more effective agriculture technologies, drones have the benefits to launch the agricultural industry into a future of sustainability both sustainable farming and sustainable food systems. Collecting data using drones on the number of agricultural areas can capture highly accurate images of your fields. In addition to, drones for agriculture covers up to hundreds of hectares/acres in a single flight and increases farm crop yields while minimizing the cost of walking the fields or airplane fly-over filming.

Data will be collected on the number of agricultural areas including greenhouses, farm buildings, irrigation wells, soil type and livestock breeding. Using a drone-enabled aerial mapping system is the ideal solution to generate high-resolution, highly-efficient aerial data, including topographic mapping, crop scouting, contouring, research climate changing, vector mapping and textured 3-D modeling.

See also: The 8 Best Drones in Agricultural Sector on the Market Today

We hope through smart farming and sustainable agriculture with drone use being capable to create a highly-accurate agricultural database that supports decision making and forward planning — Using drones in agriculture is particularly important if we are to achieve outstanding outcomes in precision agriculture.

The Benefits of Drones in Farming

• Increase Yields

Find potentially yield limiting problems in a timely fashion. This level of detail can help farmers increase production and efficiencies that lead to higher yields. In addition to, there is a bird scaring drone designed to effectively and permanently remove pest birds from your property. It prevents birds from becoming habituated and keeps birds out of your yields, crop, or orchard all the way through harvest.

• Save Time

One of the major benefits of drones in farming  is ability to scout farm fields both quickly and efficiently. Rather than having growers evaluate fields manually on foot or by tractor, this technology allows farmers to gain immediate knowledge about the status of their fields in shorter periods of time.

This information can be gathered whenever and wherever it is needed, minimizing the response time required to address issues and maintain crops.

• Return on Investment

At an average of $2 per acre for a walking visual inspection or an aerial survey to take an image of crop fields, the ROI on the purchase of an aerial helicopter drone can be met quickly. In most operations, the ROI for our drones can be achieved in a crop season or less, leaving you owning a drone that reduces your operating costs and improves your crop yield by giving you the timely information you need for quick management intervention.

• Ease of use

UAV products can be very complex to set-up and operate, but with our preset standards we allow new operators to have confidence in operating from the beginning.

• Integrated GIS mapping

Draw field borders for flight pattern. This map is the key to boosting yields, cutting costs, and driving your business forwards. It highlights exactly which areas of crop need closer examination

• Crop Health Imaging

New drone technology is very effective at collecting data to help farmers improve crop health. Seeing the true health of your field in a color contrast allows you to see how much sunlight is being absorbed by the crop canopy. Drones flying over a field can collect plant height measurements by gathering range information from the plant canopy and the ground below.

• Failsafe - The Drone Flies Home

As an added safety net with the flip of switch your Precision Drone will return to its original takeoff location

• Water efficiency and other environmental benefits

Thermal cameras are able to detect cooler, well-watered field regions as well as dry hot patches. Farmers can use this data to adjust field irrigation and avoid wasting excess water. This ability to increase water optimization is particularly valuable in drought-stricken areas, such as California.

And by increasing water and fertilizer efficiency, drone technology also helps reduce excess fertilizer that runs off into nearby rivers and streams. Less runoff decreases the algal blooms and dead zones in our water systems.

See also: Advantages and Disadvantages of Drones for Spraying Pesticides

Thus most drones currently available for use in the agriculture industry are very costly. However, with new developments and further innovation, drones may start to prove their value in agriculture.

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