Drones - Articles - Page 2

Using drones to spray weeds and spread seeds

Drones offer small- and large-acreage farms versatility that spray rigs, planes and helicopters can’t. More research is needed to determine how a drone’s spray performance compares to conventional sprayers.

March 26, 2024

Paige Nelson

Today, drones have the ability to spray herbicides, pesticides and fungicides at 8 feet off the ground. They also can spread solids like seeds, bugs and compost. They do it quietly, quickly and precisely.

Drone technology in TMR audits

Adding a drone to the TMR audit process takes the audit to the next level, giving the farm and the auditor high-quality video data to support management changes.

August 24, 2023

Erica Louder

Marcus Hollmann, a consultant based in Wisconsin; and Steve Mayo, a consultant assistant based in Idaho, both with Standard Dairy Consultants, use drones to help their dairy clients with feed management and completing TMR audits.

What drones can tell sugarbeet growers about yield and quality

April 3, 2023

Olga S. Walsh

"Our work offers a solid proof of concept that drone data can be used for accurate sugarbeet yield and ERS prediction in-season."

Looking for the unseen: Crop sensors and UAVs

January 27, 2023

Olga S. Walsh

Nitrogen (N) can be a yield-limiting nutrient in wheat cropping systems. If used correctly, N fertilization provides one of the largest returns on investment for yield gains and quality enhancement.

Eyes in the sky on your pasture

July 8, 2022

Heather Smith Thomas

Pasture health and growth is crucial to raising livestock; every stockman must essentially be a forage producer. Timely rotational grazing and proper stocking rates can optimize production and improve degraded pastureland.

Drones: The 21st century ranch hand

From forage management to livestock monitoring, today’s ranchers are learning to use drones as tools instead of toys.

June 24, 2022

Heather Smith Thomas

Just a decade ago, drones were a novelty in agriculture. Dr. Humberto Perotto, associate professor at Texas A&M University – Kingsville says the world of drones has exploded in the past five years.

Technology assists with the sixth sense

May 30, 2022

Heather Smith Thomas

Determining optimum timing for harvest – to find the best balance between high yield and high quality – has always been a challenge, especially with alfalfa crops, while factoring in the best timing for weather.

How drones and cloud computing increase the accuracy of silage inventory

August 6, 2021

Walt Cooley

More and more dairies are using drone technology to measure the size of their forage piles and more accurately estimate the amount of feed they have in inventory for the next year.