Drone keeps eagle eye on flock
Every time young would-be farmer Cameron Wyeth heaves a heavily pregnant ewe off its back he knows he is saving lives.
His dad, Matt, uses the best of old and new technology to get this important job done with his prize ewes that end up cast in the sun.
The Wyeths have had the drone for three years. It didn’t take them long to understand what an important tool it could be on their farm nestled in the foothills of the Tararua Ranges west of Masterton.
For this particular job, 11-yearold Cameron, armed with a twoway radio, jumps on his 80cc motorbike and takes off to the flat paddocks where the most valued animals on the farm are kept.
His dad uses the drone to spot cast ewes and directs Cameron to where they are so he can set them to rights.
Each pregnant highlander ewe is just about ready for lambing.
It is at this time they are most vulnerable to becoming cast – lying on their backs unable to get up. ‘‘They are so heavily in-lamb that sometimes they lie down for a scratch or a sleep and can’t get back up. They are all carrying triplets so they are pretty huge and their big bellies can stop them rolling back over,’’ Lynley Wyeth said.
Without assistance the sheep can die within a few days.
As well as an animal welfare issue it could be a costly loss to the farm – especially with current healthy stock prices.
Cameron enjoys the chance to head out on his motorbike and gets the satisfaction of knowing he has looked after the animals.
‘‘It’s a good feeling because you have just saved a couple of lives,’’ he said.
The farmers use the drone two to three times a day at certain times of the year.
Its high perspective lets them see areas that they might miss from ground level and it can be a good tool to muster stock.
Matt Wyeth said part of the reason he wanted to embrace the new technology was to show his children that farming was an innovative business that could be exciting. ‘‘This is the way the next generation is going to farm.’’