Farmers take flight with drone technology

Seeing farmers standing in their fields could be a thing of the past.

Some growers are turning to drones to monitor their operations.

“There are a number of different things you can do with it,” said Landview Drones chief instructor Robin Harrison.

“Most farmers will use them to monitor their crops in different ways, for crop health and yield potential, etc. Cattlemen will also use them to monitor their cattle, check calving pens.

Harrison teaches throughout Alberta.

At the Ag Drone School, participants learn about drones, their potential uses on the farm, Canadian aviation regulations, and also get airtime.

Farmers get their basic pilot certificate, which allows them to fly larger drones that can be equipped with cameras and even sprayers.

Seed grower Will van Roessel attended the two-day course in Bow Island, Alberta.

“I’ve always been a bit intrigued by drones and really wondered how capable drones are for agricultural use,” van Roessel said.

He is not alone.

Harrison started teaching the program seven years ago and sees interest growing.

“Farmers are starting to realize now that they have a tool that can help them a lot on different projects.”

As technology continues to advance, drone technician Cody Schenkey expects more farmers to survey their land from the sky.

“Technology is getting cheaper (and) more accessible, so it’s really good to see people from agriculture to the average person getting into drones,” Schenkey said.

This includes van Roessel, who is now certified.

“I’m really interested in buying a basic drone with a standard type camera to start with and practice with that,” he said.

And ready for take off.

“We’re hoping to use it for things like checking parts of the fields where we think we have a problem and maybe we can get a better view of a certain area without having to walk a lot.”

Log more air miles and fewer steps.