Drone Discussions part 3: The pros and cons in agriculture

Two weeks ago, The Eagle asked if Chadron State College’s rangeland program should include drone classes. Last week CSC Vice President Dr. James Powell confirmed that drone courses will be in full swing within the next few years.

In the finale of Drone Discussions, I’ll be revising the pros and cons of drones in agriculture. 

In 1892, John Froelich invented the first gasoline-powered tractor to eliminate the time spent readying a one to four-horse team. The first commercial combine was invented by Hugh Victor McKay in 1885 and is since known as one of the most economically important and labor-saving inventions across the globe.

Today’s newest technological innovation to push agriculture to the next level is the drone.

Drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have been around for decades in the military and are branching fast into advancing industries. The agriculture industry is one of the many that took to the technology and aren’t looking back.

Looking into the future, farm and ranch operations are in search for the least time-consuming methods possible to get the job done.

Many farmers and ranchers are understanding what drones can accomplish other than simply photos, and how they can change farm and ranch operations for the better.

Drones are multi-purpose machines and some popular uses for them in agriculture include reading radio-frequency identification tags for tracking location and health of livestock, spraying crops and their traditional eye-in-the-sky purposes.

Popular drone models used in agriculture can shoot high resolution photos at 1-6 cm resolution and can do it in hard-to-reach places. Short battery life has been a recurring issue in the past, but today drone batteries can last long enough to cover a roughly 200-acre plot, according to DroneDeploy.

Another past issue with drones, was that once they had photographed a specific plot, it took time for the data to download on a regular computer. Now they can create maps wirelessly and act quickly against crop threats before the drone lands by photographing and downloading simultaneously.

Instead of making payments for satellite imagery, in the long haul the farmer or rancher would save money by purchasing a drone. Though they can be a helpful tool in many situations, there are some downsides to it as well.

1. Popular drones in agriculture costs can range from $1,500 – $25,000, making the best technology impractical for some.

2. Once the drone is purchased, the owner can’t fly it until they pass the required FAA tests, and there are few colleges and universities in the nation offer drone certificates and/or degrees.

3. Once the owner has passed the test there are still rules and regulations they have to follow. Clearance has to be authorized outdoors and in public facilities, the pilot has to see the drone wherever it goes and, in most cases, can’t fly the machine over people.

Satellites can’t spray crops, herd livestock or take photos at a 1-6 cm resolution yet, but they can offer 25 cm resolution.

As mentioned in Drone Discussions part 1, the debate with some CSC professors was whether we needed resolution that clear-cut, or if the rancher/farmer could get the photos they needed using satellite.

“For broad-scale stuff, satellites can do everything a drone can do,” Agriculture and Rangeland Management Associate Professor Anthony Perlinski said. “It’s just a matter of if you want to fly a drone or if you want to pay to get the satellite imagery.” 

Colleges and universities across the nation have been attributing to the trend by offering these certificates and degrees, knowing that drone expertise is currently in high demand in the agriculture industry.

Within the next 2-4 years Chadron State College will be offering drone courses as interdisciplinary classes that will award undergraduate certificates, CSC Vice President Dr. James Powell said.

These courses will also be offered to the public, making them easily available for local ranchers and farmers.