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