Any farmer can get into the drone game, according to Matthew Johnson, vice-president at Volatus Aerospace. And with the current price of a minidrone, with its functionality and ease of use, he says it’s kind of crazy not to. “I’ve been saying it for a long time. Since (the) mini came out, I think every […] Read more
Tag Archives drones
Taking a close look from a long distance
Satellite data and machine learning are yielding powerful tools for crop management in Western Canada
SASKATOON — Information is power, and by putting that power into farmers’ hands, Steve Shirtliffe wants to help Western Canada continue its record of world-leading innovation. “My vision is that we build a digital agriculture economy here in Saskatchewan,” he said. “ We’ve done it before. Where did no till come from? Where did people […] Read more
Flying the fields
Researchers are increasingly augmenting the time-honoured practice of walking the fields to check for pest and disease pressure, germination or performance with eyes in the sky such as orbital satellites, drone-mounted cameras and combinations of both. For example, free online tools such as the SKSIS Mapper developed through the University of Saskatchewan’s soil science department […] Read more
Drones put to work tracking down water stress relationship
A University of Saskatchewan researcher is using drones to study the correlation between the thermal temperature of a plant and water stress, which typically means a shortness of water. “I’m using UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to collect the thermal electromagnetic radiation that comes off of crops and using that to correlate it to crop volumetric […] Read more
Eye in the sky speeds forage research on saline soils
Working under the supervision of forage crop breeding researcher Bill Biligetu with the Crop Development Centre at the U of S, Alex Waldner is tackling a frequent headache for producers: how to manage Saskatchewan’s often saline soils.
Drones electrify desert drought
The United Arab Emirates needs more freshwater. With an average annual rainfall of four inches, people in this harsh equatorial environment know global warming will only exacerbate their situation. Desperate for a solution, the oil-rich nation has reached out to the world’s scientific community with funding for research that might bring rain to their parched […] Read more
Work starts on drone spraying rules
The PMRA does not allow crop protection products to be applied by aerial drones; experts say more research is needed
When the Canadian Aerial Applicators Association got wind that Don Campbell had been approved by Transport Canada to emit fluid from a drone, the group decided he needed to be stopped. “Just because Transport Canada has approved them as an unmanned aircraft for flying, that does not mean that they have been approved by the […] Read more
New drones dealing with spray drift
Vertical takeoff and landing, conventional aerofoil, high capacity UAV unmanned aerial vehicle unique design
Drones designed to spray broad- acre agricultural crops usually use fine droplets with a low water-to-chemical ratio to try and make up for their limited fluid carrying capacity. This greatly limits their use, because extremely low water volumes are off-label and fine droplets are prone to drift, where they might take out a neighbour’s crop. […] Read more
Drone sprayers separate the weeds
REGINA — A Saskatchewan company has developed artificially intelligent robots capable of detecting and spraying weeds autonomously. “There is the brain and the body. The brain is the parts of the camera, the AI that figures out what it’s looking at and can actually differentiate between weed and crop. And not just differentiate, it will […] Read more
Broad acre drone spraying unlikely
A spraying expert says potential spray drift is a significant concern and payloads will likely be too small to be productive
Drone sprayers have been used in Pacific Rim agriculture for more than two decades, and they gained California certification four years ago. But do they have potential beyond the orchard gate? Probably not, at least not in the foreseeable future, according to Tom Wolf, also known as the Nozzle Guy, in a recent post to […] Read more
