SOME TIPS FOR DRONE PILOTS SEEKING WORK IN AGRICULTURE

It is no surprise that drones are finding a home in the agriculture industry.  Like the construction industry, the agriculture industry is constantly looking for ways to be more productive and efficient.  The introduction of drones in agriculture has provided a number of solutions to problems faced by farmers everywhere.

For those of you who are curious, here are a few aspects of the agriculture industry in which drones have proven to be extremely helpful:

FIELD MAPPING

One of the biggest problems that farmers face in their profession is being able to see and take inventory for their entire farm.  After all, many farmers are dealing with acres upon acres of farmland.  Drones provide these farmers with an easier way to take inventory of their property.  They can also produce detailed maps of the area.

Most impressively, however, is the fact that drones are also capable of providing important information that farmers traditionally have to obtain by hand.  Experienced drone pilots and mappers are capable of finding the nitrogen levels in the soil and providing farmers with updates on the health of their crops. 

SEED-BOMBING

One of the fastest growing (no pun intended) uses for drones in the agriculture industry is the practice of “seed-bombing”.  As many of you may know, a number of companies have started using drones to expedite the process of planting seeds.  Instead of sewing seeds the traditional way, farmers can utilize drones to scatter seeds and their nutrients over their land, essentially cutting the human labor that growing usually requires down to a fraction. 

CROPDUSTING

While cropdusting was developed thanks to innovations in airplane technology, farmers everywhere are finding that drones provide new and better solutions to the process.  Because drones are capable of surveying and mapping in addition to distributing material, they offer a way for farmers to use pesticides and other chemicals more efficiently.  Whereas airplanes and other tools were just used to scatter chemicals over crops, professional maps can provide data that determine exactly how much of that material needs to be distributed. 

BUT…I HEARD FARMERS HATE DRONE PILOTS…

One of the problems faced by drone pilots in agriculture is that they find farmers to be dismissive of the services drones can offer them.  In order to get across to farmers and convince them that you can make their life easier, then, it is important to understand why they might not immediately take drone pilots seriously. 

The truth, in fact, is that many drone pilots lack the skills that farmers really need.  If a farmer is going to pay for a drone pilot to map their property, for example, they’re going to want the pilot to provide them with data that can be implemented on their farm.  They probably don’t want someone who is just going to shoot some photos or collect some data and hand it over.  They need a system through which collected data can be translated into something that their business can really use.

A drone pilot working in agricultural mapping, then needs to have the knowledge to set up a system that includes multiple steps.  The drone pilots needs to be able to map the farm and index the plants.  Most importantly, though, they need turn that into something that the farmer can use to make future decisions.

If pilots are able to bring those drone skills to each farm they work with, we will continue to see the role of drones in the agriculture industry grow. 

Subscribe to AskDroneU, our regular podcast where we answer your questions about all things drone-related.  Available on iTunes, YouTube and at TheDroneU.com.