Drone use ready to take off in agricultural sector
IT MIGHT look like futuristic technology, but pretty soon drones will be as common on a farm as a tractor or truck.
The latest in drone tech was on show at CRT FarmFest 2017 this week, with companies showing off the almost limitless capabilities of the machines for savvy farmers looking to extend their bottom line.
Precision Hawk, one of the top 30 companies in the world for drones, has software that can track herds, scan water coverage over a crop, map out low productivity areas and even muster.
Company representative Josh Voelker said the improved technology of modern machines, combined with less restrictive commercial laws over its use, meant agriculture would soon be the primary industry for drones.
“Now, walking across your paddock and seeing 10% of it turns into seeing 100% of it and seeing what the problem areas are,” he said.
“Eighty per cent of all drone usage is predicted to be in agriculture across the world.
“Once you step up, you do a lot more of the analytics stuff, because it takes you into crop monitoring and it actually tells where the problems in your field are.”
Precision Hawk has partnered with Ruralco in Australia to distribute the software to distribute hardware and software packages starting from about $2000.
Ruralco’s Sam Hunt said soon all farmers would need the technology to keep high productivity.
“We’re trying to farm on the driest inhabited continent on earth,” he said.