Today, drones, sometimes known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being used in a variety of industries to boost productivity, improve surveillance and gather intelligence.
This includes the agricultural industry, as farmers are increasingly using drones to help them perform essential tasks and improve the efficiency of their farms. Here, we look at some of the ways that high-spec drones can help to improve productivity in farming.
Inspect and monitor fields
Thanks to intelligent sensors such as capacitive proximity sensors, thermal sensors, and hyperspectral sensors, drones can help farmers to monitor and inspect their fields. Drones can travel long distances much faster than a farmer could on foot or by tractor, giving an overview of crop health, height, water quality, and more. Thermal sensors can even help to monitor livestock.
This means that farmers can save a huge amount of time that it would take to visually check and perform soil analysis in each field, which in turn reduces labor costs. It also allows them to make quicker decisions on how to best look after their crop and animals.
Provide details on weather patterns
A huge benefit of drones is that they can collect data on the weather, including temperature, humidity, wind, storms, clouds, and more. This environmental monitoring is hugely beneficial for farmers as it allows them to track changes in the weather and take action to protect their crops and livestock.
It also allows them to accurately plan when to carry out certain tasks, such as harvesting, planting seeds, or fertilizing their fields. Having access to this information means farmers can make quick decisions on how best to look after their yield in line with environmental changes.
Help with pest control and fertilization
To run a successful operation, farmers must ensure their fields are fertile and kept free from as many pests as possible. This often involves manually spraying fields with fertilizer and pesticides which can be time-consuming and labor intensive.
Drones can help improve productivity in this area by carrying out this task for the farmer. They can be equipped with technology that allows them to fly over fields, spraying them with fertilizer or pesticides. This is beneficial as it can save a huge amount of time and money for farmers, as well as improve their yield.
While drones do come with a range of challenges such as high upfront costs and the learning required for skillful operation, there’s no denying the advantages they offer to farmers. By providing critical information that can be acted on straight away, drones can help to resolve issues much more quickly, improve crop health, reduce time-intensive tasks, and increase overall productivity.