Are drones the future of farming?
MILAN, Tenn. — There’s plenty of buzz about drones these days and now the technology is helping West Tennessee farmers produce a better yield. Farmers are now using more than a tractor and a plow to produce a better yield; they’re using drones to get a better picture from up above. It’s all thanks to a Milan company call AGRIIMAGE. “I think we’re just now learning some of the possibilities that can be used for as far as scouting fields, looking for weeds, disease pressure, insect pressure, those types of things. But I don’t think think we even scratched the surface of what the potential is.”Dr. Blake Brown said, Research Director at the U.T Agriculture and Education center in Milan. Cameras mounted on the drones allow crop consultants and farmers to get a big picture look at their fields. They can also zoom in to examine trouble spots. “If we can go up to 100 acre field in a few minutes get a real time view of what’s happening out there as opposed to spending hours going around the edges or walking through it. We can make decisions quicker and better.” Dr. Brown said. The drone system is controlled with GPS auto pilot or by an iPad app from the company. It also comes with a set of flight goggles to make you feel like you’re inside the drone. “Our model that will will do NDVI imagery is our popular model with higher return on investment. With that being said, we are able to capture that imagery. The unit with everything combined cost about $18,000.” David Pinkerton said, Owner and President of AGRIIMAGE. The hope is these drones will allow farmers to add another tool to cut costs and increase overall demand.
