Digital crop walks and using drones

The crop walks are a crucial part of the maintenance of the crop. You need to see how the crops are doing, and if there are any issues. You may need more pesticides, fungicides, or to replant certain plants. The only issue with crop walks, is that it can take a lot of the grower’s time. Drones enable a quicker, more efficient way to check the health of your crops.  

What is a drone? 

There are many types of drones, that vary in range, camera quality, and build quality. A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, that uses a controller to move around. More advanced drones can be “trained” to navigate an area, using GPS. DJI Drones can have several cameras installed, and can range from 720p to 4k resolution. The better the camera, the more detail you can see. Modern drones use a 3-point or 6-point gyroscope for stabilisation, allowing them to hover in place without shaking.  

• How many hectares is your farm? 
• How long does a crop walk take currently? 
• Who is responsible for collecting the data? 

Store video along with notes from your digital crop walks 

You can record the crop walk, and upload it to the LiveFarmer farm management software in order to keep better records. You can go back over, review, and highlight areas of concern. When you snap a picture, it includes geo location data, so you can find the exact plant with issues. More data means better decisions, and catching potential problems early. 

What other possibilities are on the horizon? 

Drone technology is only getting more advanced. With autonomous drones carrying out some basic tasks, such as couriering. Eventually, you could have drones delivering tools and seeds directly to the growers, using their GPS location, automatically. Instead of calling the main base for assistance, they could send a drone request, the drone finds the part or tool required, and delivers it. With little to no human interaction!