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.
