Agronomy Library > Forages & Forage Seed

Remote Planes for Crop Scouting - Direct Seeding Advantage 2005
Author: Craig Shaw
Date Created: November 22, 2005
Last Reviewed: January 14, 2009
Over the winter and spring of 2004-2005 a group was formed to look at the potential of digital photography taken from remote control airplanes as a tool for both crop scouting and assisting the decision making processes in precision farming applications. Recent developments in both remote control planes and digital photography have meant there maybe potential in developing cost effective systems that allow producers and support industries to better utilize costly inputs of both fertilizer and herbicides.  Over the summer of 2005 a number of flights were done in the Lacombe area to gain a feel for the technology and gain some preliminary information from which to chart a future plan of action. The presentation will look at some potential applications, some economic analysis, the current state of the technology, and some preliminary findings. Open the PDF for the complete paper