The Farmers Mart Dec-Jan 2018 - Issue 54 | Page 74

74 TECHNOLOGY DEC/JAN 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk USE OF DRONES IN FARMING The traditional image of the farmer tending his crops in the field is about to change with the introduction of drone technology and ‘precision agriculture,’ otherwise known as smart farming. BY 2050, it is expected that the global population will have in- creased to 9.6 billion, up from the current population of 7.2 billion. Experts have also predicted that food production will need to in- crease by about 70% to meet this population rise and the greater demand on resources. To achieve this increase, scien- tists and experts have indicated that farmers will need to adopt precision farming using advanced technology to increase output without decreasing quality. One of those technological advances that can be easily adopted by farmers is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more commonly known as drones. Drones are not a new technol- ogy. They’ve been in use com- mercially since the 1980s, though they were expensive to use then and required specialist opera- tors. In recent years, drones have become cheaper and more acces- sible, and as the technology has advanced it has been possible to produce smaller more commer- cially viable drones. The advent of smaller drones which are easy to use has come with advances in technology such as GPS modules, high resolution cameras, infra-red and thermal sensors – and even ground pene- trating radar to aid measuring soil conditions. Drones have become relatively cost-effective with advanced sensors and imaging capabilities. Farmers can now purchase a small drone for under £1,000. Remote sensoring technology has advanced so greatly that sensors can now be carried on a small commercially bought drone, whereas in the past they required manned aircraft or satellite connectivity, placing them out of reach for most in the farming industry. The practical applications for drone use are expanding faster than ever - everything from soil and field analysis, crop-spraying, crop monitoring, irrigation and health assessment. Drones can provide views of crops from the air that can reveal issues such as pest and fungal infestations, irriga- tion issues and soil variations not necessarily visible at eye level. In 2013, a wine producer in California used drones to locate sections of the vineyard that were ripening earlier than expected, prompting an earlier harvest of those areas. The information gath- ered by a drone could mean the difference between a failed crop or a bumper harvest. Drones have the ability to fly very low over a crop to provide a very detailed view. Using infra-red sensors, drones can detect stress in a plant ten days before it becomes visible to the naked eye. This can provide a ten-day warning system that could prevent a large-scale crop loss. Drones can monitor crops every hour, day and week, which in turn can reveal changes in a crop highlighting trouble spots. If a small area of a field becomes infested with weeds, a farmer could spray the affected area without having to spray the entire field. This would improve efficiency and lower costs as well as the impact to the local environment because drones showed where to spot spray. They can also be utilised in live- stock surveillance, with the ability to fly over, in and around a herd to collect various forms of informa- tion, including illness, pregnancy and any injuries sustained by individual animals. Those same drones are able to recognize and monitor individuals from the herd that may need additional fol- low-up care. Currently, there is no licence re- quired to fly and use a drone, but there is a qualification provided by the CAA (Civil Aviation Author- ity) for those who are employed for commercial reasons to fly a drone, known as the Permission for Commercial Operation (PfCO). A consumer flyer doesn’t require this qualification if it’s for recrea- tional use. The CAA class drones as a type of aircraft and not a toy, so there are rules and regulations that need to be followed. The drone needs to be under 20kg, and can’t be flown 150 metres within a congested area or within 50 metres of a person, vessel, vehicle or structure not under the control of the pilot. You will also need to fly the aircraft within sight. This means you can’t go above 400ft in altitude or fur- ther than 500 metres horizontally. If you want to exceed that, you’ll need to seek explicit permission from the CAA. Any drone which is over 20kg can only be flown in designated areas such as Parc Aberporth aerodrome in West Wales. There are also several smart phone/device apps that will pro- vide information of airspace us- age, such as areas to avoid flying for security and safety reasons, as well as weather information. One such app, Drone Assist, is provided free by NATS (National Air Traffic Services). It includes an interactive map of UK airspace used by commercial aircraft and s