Drone scarecrows the future of farming?
Quietly humming unmanned aircraft could deter birds as effectively as noisy cannon blasts
Researchers at the University of the Fraser Valley believe drones may finally silence the cannons that boom throughout the summer on blueberry farms.
Professor Tom Baumann and his team are reprogramming helicopter-like UAVs — properly known as unmanned aerial vehicles — to fly preset patterns over ripening blueberries in the hope they will scare away the birds that feast on farmers’ fruit and kill their profits.
In a demonstration flight last week, UFV instructor Myles Andrew piloted a four-prop drone quietly over Abbotsford berry fields, though gusting winds made landings difficult.
The goal is to create an affordable drone that flies in a pattern across the fields using GPS positioning and then returns to a charging base until the next flight, all without direct control or supervision from human beings, Baumann said.
“We want it to fly around, scare the daylights out of the birds — especially the starlings — and keep them nervous enough to stay away during harvest,” Baumann said.
According to Andrew, “Higherend commercially available drones can already be programmed to fly specific patterns. What we need to do is customize and vary the patterns so the birds don’t get used to it.”
Growers have tried noisemakers, reflectors, lights and balloons painted with scary faces to keep birds at bay. A handful of growers use falcons to patrol their fields, but the added cost of paying handlers means only the largest farms can afford them.
The most cost-effective technology is unpopular with neighbours. Propane cannons fire a loud blast throughout the day to frighten birds during harvest season, which can run more than three months.
Community groups from Delta to Chilliwack have protested the use of cannons and city councils in Abbotsford and Langley Township have passed bylaws to govern their use. Ministry of Agriculture guidelines allow the cannons to fire about every five minutes from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Some municipalities enforce a break between noon and 3 p.m.
“It’s debilitating,” said berry farm neighbour Kevin Mitchell, who helps run the anti-cannon website banthecannons.com. “You get no peace and no enjoyment, except for a small break at noon.”
Reliable programming and some assurance from Transport Canada that the drones would be allowed to fly without an operator are the main barriers, Mitchell said.
Smith’s berry farm uses netting suspended from poles and wires to protect his crop. He says installation, maintenance and replacement at today’s prices run about $400 per acre per year, a sum that would hurt the bottom line of many farms, he says.
“We are looking at this drone technology very closely because we would like to get away from the netting,” Smith said. “Netting is too much hassle and work and too much cost.”
Baumann’s group is still resolving issues that would allow the $2,200 units to operate without much assistance from the farmer. The machines are quiet enough that you can hear the hum of engines when they are nearby, he said, but still carry on a conversation.
“Once they are 20 metres away,” Baumann added, “you cannot hear them at all.”