China-based company XAG is growing a name for itself, recently displaying a series of fully autonomous drones and farm monitoring sensors at Agritechnica, in Hanover, Germany. Founded in 2007, XAG now has laboratories and research stations in 38 countries, and is focused on developing technology to address plant protection, crop monitoring, and farm management. Its… Read More
Not all concepts exhibited at Agritechnica make it to commercialization. Instead of moving an individual piece of equipment forward, it’s usually a concept that clicks, is picked up by engineers, and moves forward. For Wes Lefroy, agricultural analyst with RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness — Australia and New Zealand, one of the most interesting aspects of… Read More
RealAgriculture’s coverage of Agritechnica 2019 is made possible by Brevant seeds. The latest technology, locally tested. Brevant seeds. Seed. Yield. Easy. Ever since drones starting gaining more traction on farms, there have been farmers talking about whether one day drones would fill the sky, spraying crops. Think about it: no soil compaction or mechanical crop damage during… Read More
After identifying a need for aerial spraying services on large farms, an Ontario-based start-up has developed a fully-automated unmanned aerial vehicle for the Canadian market. “Typically most drones you see out there for aerial spraying are fairly small capacity… and for North American farms…it’s just not going to cut it,” says Meng Wei, CEO and… Read More
With precision agriculture becoming less of an idea and more of a reality for farmers, one Canadian company has jumped on board with drone technology to help farmers when they scout. Melissa Silvernagle, precision agronomy technical lead with AgraCity Crop and Nutrition says she was amazed by the way scouting is changing with the integration… Read More
Besides just the sheer work of moving through crops on foot (and, in some cases, trying not to get lost in them), scouting can prove difficult in just deciding what path to walk. Drone technology is changing that. According to Adrian Moens of AJM Seeds, using drones to map a field prior to scouting gives… Read More
Transport Canada has announced new rules for “remotely piloted aircraft systems,” commonly known as drones or UAVs. Whether it’s for work or pleasure, all people flying drones that weigh between 250 grams to 25 kilograms will have to adhere to the rules that come into effect June 1, 2019. The new rules have two main… Read More
The news South West Ag Partners, the Chatham-based ag input and grain dealer, has reached an agreement to sell its subsidiary Veritas Farm Management to Deveron UAS, a drone-derived data company. The details The sale includes South West Ag Partners’ 100 percent share of Veritas Farm Management Inc., but this is a separate deal from… Read More
Every farmer doesn’t need to own and operate a drone for UAV technology to have a positive impact on their farm. That’s the message Scott Ditschun shares with farmers when he discusses how Bayer CropScience is employing drones in its agronomic and product research. He says UAV technology could effectively increase Bayer’s field research efficiency by… Read More
The idea of spraying with drones has gained interest as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become more common in farming over the past few years. In concept, UAV sprayers could identify and target weeds, and then apply herbicide autonomously in specific areas of a field. The technology for spraying with a drone is available and… Read More
Is the clock ticking on the future of your ground sprayer? Could it eventually be replaced by a swarm of UAV sprayers that could better target weeds and deliver herbicide to exact locations in the field? These are questions we explore with AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan on this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School. Cowan recently… Read More
Drones are likely packed away for winter, but now is the time to take them out to perform battery maintenance. The chemistry inside lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries used to power most drones breaks down when kept at full or low charge levels for extended periods of time, reducing battery life and capacity. A battery that… Read More
Recent advances in the availability and quality of satellite imagery is providing powerful in-season management insights for corn growers. Many growers feel it’s no longer necessary to fly their own drone to capture aerial images of their fields. They can simply rely on a growing number of agronomic services to scout their crop using drone… Read More
It can be a little disconcerting to see any unrecognized vehicle on your property, especially with regular reports of thefts from rural properties. People are looking beyond their roads and approaches, to the skies, where unknown, low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, can also cause apprehension. So what do we do if we see… Read More
Pretty field pictures and awesome harvest videos aside, drones, or UAVs, are proving their worth on the farm through field scouting and development of management zones for precision farming applications. But there are many that see drones as an overblown camera or a fun toy, not fully recognizing the present usefulness and future potential of the… Read More