Drones Fly Onto Radar For Farm Operations

Just about every yield advantage for corn and soybeans has been identified, except those that may only be observable from an aerial point of view.

That potential for incrementally improving crop yield and quality is what motivates Mission Hill farmer Chris Nelsen to make use of drone technology.

After buying his first drone four years ago, Nelsen has learned that a bird's-eye view can reveal important information about his crops and irrigation systems that give him an advantage for his bottom line.

"Once a corn crop is four to five feet tall, there are a lot of things you can't see just by looking across the field," Nelsen says. "You could have insects attacking the crop, nutritional deficiencies in different areas of the field or maybe some flooding problems. You won't be able to address those problems unless you have a way to identify them. Drones can help wit that."

Drone use in agriculture has evolved as operators like Nelsen have learned how to use them and drone technology has advanced. What started as a quick way to view a crop is now giving farmers an opportunity to obtain GPS coordinates for their entire field to create a map that can be overlaid on a yield map to reveal a higher degree of information about the crop.

"The Cadillac of drones starts uploading dataeven as it's flying over a field," Nelsen says. "There are third-party vendors who can take drone images and stitch them together to create a panoramic view of the crop. Add the geo reference data to that and you have a lot of information about your crop and your field."

Infrared photography is one of the emerging features of drones used in agriculture. Infrared photography can be used to help assess a plant's health. Traditionally, infrared imagery for agricultural and ecological use has been captured from satellites and airplanes. The information it provides has been used mainly by large farming operations and academic research projects.

However, farmers like Nelsen can now use drones to capture infrared images of crops and review the pictures to determine if plants are suffering from issues such as nitrogen deficiency or overwatering.

"Infrared images will provide a comparison of how 'green' each plant is," Nelsen says. "The greener the plant, the healthier it is. Nitrogen deficiency is a common plant health issue. However, something like a plugged or worn irrigation sprinkler package could be causing either excess or lack of water in an isolated area. Drones that capture infrared images at any time the farmer needs them can help in recognizing an issue and responding to it as soon as possible."

Infrared images of an operating irrigation sprinkler will reveal differences in the concentric circles created by the water, pinpointing an irrigation malfunction.

"In the past, we had to rely on satellites to obtain these types of images," Nelsen says. "If it happens to be cloudy on the day you need an image, you might have to wait at least three or four days for that satellite to pass over again. Drones can be launched anytime there's a need."

Nelsen has found that ponding issues that don't appear to be too serious when observed from the ground level can look much different from an aerial point of view. The drone can reveal the length and breadth of the ponding area, as well as help in assessing the health of plants in that area.

"If you use a $20,000 drone, you can have video and images to review as soon as the drone lands," Nelsen says. "I don't use one with those features, but I am able to view real-time video on my phone or other digital device by using a drone app. You can view near infrared video, too."

Farmers like Nelsen who have implemented drone technology in their operations are finding that they have a wealth of data they don't always know how to use. Partnering with an agronomist or other crop and soil specialists can help in mining the information drones gather.

"You want to use that information to the best of your ability to maximize efficiency and productivity," Nelsen says. "By putting the trained eyes of specialists like an entomologist on your information, you may discover things you wouldn't otherwise recognize."

Nelsen cautions that use of drones doesn't relieve farmers of the need to physically scout their fields and get close to the crop. All the images and video in the world can't replace that hands-on observation.

"You can't just farm from the sky," Nelsen says. "You have to get out there. Just flying over a field with a drone isn't going to make everything OK."

To select an appropriate drone, Nelsen recommends completing research to learn about the features of different types of drones, and ask agricultural experts and those engaged in the agriculture industry for their insight on the topic.

"There are companies who have all the technical information and know all about designing and servicing a drone, but they may not be able to help farmers understand the benefits of stitching crop images together or even help them find a vendor to provide that service," Nelsen says. "Take time to weed out the drone companies that aren't equipped to specifically help you make the most of your drone."

The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is a simple graphical indicator that can be used to analyze remote sensing measurements to assess whether or not the observed target contains live green vegetation.

NDVI maps show the difference between the near-infrared (strongly reflected by vegetation) and red light (which is absorbed by vegetation). The maps can be created by drones that capture near-infrared and red wavelength data. The information aids in activities like monitoring drought and predicting yield. It also provides data about density and intensity of green vegetation growth. Water-stressed, diseased or dead leaves become yellow and reflect significantly less in the near-infrared range.

"All this information can be used to help develop prescriptions for variable-rate planting, fertilizing and irrigation," Nelsen says. "It could also be used to develop spraying plans for insect or weed treatments. Based on the wave length emitted, you could program a sprayer to treat anything that varied from the wave length emitted by a corn plant. All of that precision matters in making crop production affordable and reliable."

Nelsen has retained images from the past four years, storing them on his computer. Cloud storage is usually an option for drone images. Nelsen doesn't rule out the use of other technologies to maximize his potential for top yield production.

"This past year, we used a plane equipped with a high-end camera to review some drainage issues before we planted to avoid losing nutrients to runoff," Nelsen says. "We can use the map generated through that to overlay and correlate with our yield map to further identify any shortcomings or faults in specific areas."

Nelsen believes drone technology will continue gaining favor in the agriculture industry because it extends the options for farmers to refine crop production and improve overall yield with data captured from the air.

"Even a 2 percent or 3 percent loss is significant for farmers," Nelsen says. "Losses can be reduced with tactics like fertilizer stabilizer to reduce leaching or drone data to reduce ponding. Incremental gains, especially in years with low profitability, can make all the difference."

Source: Drones Fly Onto Radar For Farm Operations