by Isaac Santel, Sustainable Plant Systems – Turfgrass Science major
The way that we do basic things is becoming more and more dependent on technology to keep things simple for us. In an article on agweb.com, called “Enter the Drone Zone,” author Ben Potter talks about using drones to help out with agriculture.
The article first tells us about a Donovan Taves of Lousiana that uses drones or UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) to help monitor the black bears that have been devastating his irrigation system.
The article then goes on to tells us that drones are becoming more popular in agriculture due to their ease of use and how effective they can be. They can be used for plant health scouting, water usage, and also to help with pesticide applications.
Technology, such as drones, are the future of farming. With a camera being mounted on the small, man controlled aircraft, it allows the farmer to scout his fields with minimal effort and is much quicker than conventional methods.
Drones are capable of doing more than just helping around the farm though. A few months ago, Amazon revealed that they were in the process of using drones to help deliver packages to customers. hello This would cut down on transportation and Labor costs.
I am pretty much for anything that saves time and money. Even though the technology will be expensive at first, the pay off will be great. Using drones for disease scouting and using water more efficiently should be able to cut down costs for the farmers (through reduced pesticide/water usage) and in turn cut down costs for the consumer.
Read more
> Enter the Drone Zone, AgWeb
*******
This blog post was an assignment for Societal Issues: Pesticides, Alternatives and the Environment (PLNTPTH 4597). The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the class, Department of Plant Pathology or the instructor.