Closeup view of agriculture drone spraying water fertilizer on the green field. Drones spraying pesticides to grow potatoes.

Revolutionizing Agriculture with Drones

The integration of technology with everyday operations has become commonplace across industries and sectors. Particularly, the drone industry has seen a steady and impressive rise in its implementation in various industries. One sector that has significantly benefited from the use of drones is agriculture. 

Advancements in drone technology have led to the development of much more efficient and varied agriculture strategies. As a result, farmers are able to enjoy their work differently through innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation systems. Operations such as surveillance, monitoring, and maintenance that are labor-intensive and time-consuming offer ideal conditions for drones to flourish. Precision farming can be achieved by drones faster and more accurately as well. Irrigation, field analysis, crop mapping, and monitoring are some of the tasks that have begun to rely on drone technology. 

 

Implementation of High-Tech Drones 

A combination of integrated hardware components and the latest software models are used to create technology such as drone sensors and cameras that have helped create the concept of smart farming. Smart farming has provided a sustainable and clean model of food production. 

Some of the more notable technologies that have improved drone technology, improving agricultural processes, in turn, are artificial intelligence, sensors, drone camera, and GPS. The resulting products help with monitoring, tracking, and inspection of farms. 

One example of how smart farming is more efficient than conventional farming is the capturing of data. Sensors are installed in drones that can record information about light, temperature, humidity, and soil conditions. 

 

Precision Farming 

 A 2019 definition by the International Society of Precision Agriculture defines precision agriculture as “a management strategy that gathers, processes and analyzes temporal, spatial and individual data and combines it with other information to support management decisions according to estimated variability for improved resource use efficiency, productivity, quality, profitability and sustainability of agricultural production.” 

Precision agriculture presents quality solutions for smart farming. Some of the major technologies that make up precision farming are: 

  • Automation systems 
  • Multispectral sensors 
  • Robotics 
  • Variable rate technology 
  • Fourth and fifth-generation mobile data transmission 
  • Global Positioning System (GPS) 

 

Monitoring Fields 

There are several factors and elements that need to be constantly and reliably monitored. A combination of ground-based drones and aerial-based drones has proven to be effective monitoring methods. Drone cameras are able to capture accurate information that can also be used to monitor progress and performance over a period of time. The implementation of drones for monitoring aids with tasks such as: 

  • Crop health assessments 
  • Crop monitoring 
  • Planting 
  • Field assessments 
  • Irrigation 

Additionally, factors such as wind speed, sunlight, moisture levels, and depth that need to be tracked can be done so much more easily using multispectral sensors that are present in drones. 

Efficient monitoring systems are extended to livestock farming as well. Large farms are more smoothly managed with the modern technologies drones are equipped with. The health and location of livestock can be monitored and recorded. This reduces the risks of loss due to diseases and other calamities that can often befall cattle. For instance, diseases can be picked up quickly, and affected cattle can be immediately separated to prevent further spreading. 

An added benefit of using automated monitoring systems for smart farming instead of relying on manual labor is the saved labor costs. 

According to the Agriculture Drone Market report by Reports and Insights, the global agriculture drone market in 2020 was estimated to be more than $1.3 billion. It’s expected to reach $10.5 billion by 2028, with a significant CAGR of 35.6%. The technological revolution is a necessary one for the agriculture sector. Amidst strained food production across the world and the problems posed by climate change, implementing intelligent technologies to combat these problems and devise more effective strategies to stay afloat is crucial. The drone industry provides these solutions for the agriculture sector on a major level. 

Skygrid has worked to provide solutions to the problems faced across numerous industries, including agriculture. To learn more about how we integrate the latest technologies into creating innovative drone technology, visit our website!

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