Agriculture drones are life-changing for farmers. Between reducing extraneous operating costs to ensuring your crops remain fully protected, drones can ease several time and energy-consuming tasks.
Here are the top six ways that drones are making life easier for farmers around the globe.
1. Spraying: Find Better, More Consistent Coverage
As any farmer knows, one of the critical pitfalls during spraying occurs when coverage is inconsistent, uneven, or unable to reach the lower leaves of a plant. With drones, days of wondering whether your plants are genuinely covered are over.
Drones use their propellers to generate a downwash wind flow, directing the droplets toward the bottom of the crop. This results in a more consistent coverage across the whole plant, eliminating uneven sprays
2. Efficiency: Drones Work Smarter & Harder
Drones aren’t constricted by large areas in the same way humans or other farming machines are. Because they can cover more ground in less time, drones offer a distinct advantage over traditional farming methods. Likewise, drones aren’t deterred by large, expansive crops, as they can quickly cover a large area in a short time.
When considering a comparison test on a cotton farm, a T40 drone sprayed 16 hectares in one hour. Compared with a standard tractor on cotton farms – a New Holland TD 100D with a 14.6-meter wide spray boom – the tractor could only reach 7-8 hectares in the same period, meaning the drone was two times more efficient.
3. Cost: Save Money On Labour & Other Expenses
With heightened efficiency often comes decreased costs. Since drones offer methods to spray crops quicker and more efficiently than traditional methods, they can greatly reduce your farm’s operating expenses.
Using drones means saving money on expensive, heavy-duty equipment. But on a smaller scale, you also save money on diesel required to operate tractors. Likewise, drones cover distances more quickly than tractors, saving money and potentially saving wages without reducing the size of your crops or the efficiency of your farming methods.
4. Post-Rain Spray: No Delays In Spray Schedule
The weather is a constant battle for farmers. Too much sun can mess with the viability of crops. But too much rain – or any rain for that matter – makes it hard and sometimes impossible to access your crop using ground sprayers or other heavy-duty vehicles.
Drones have no such problem. Drones can ensure you stay on your spraying schedule even after heavy rain. During insect infestations, every second matters, so the quicker you can spray your fields, the better the overall health of the crop will be. And the better the health, the more profitable your growing season will be.
5. Variable Rate Spraying: Reduce Spray Waste
While drones offer consistent blanket coverage across a large crop area, your crop doesn’t always need the same coverage in every spot. Drones offer the option for variable rate spraying, which allows you to become targeted in your spraying approach and application.
With this level of control, you can significantly increase your crop yield by targeting specific sprays in the areas they need to be. This also reduces spray waste, preventing spray from hitting unnecessary regions.
6. Impact: Reduce Or Eliminate Damage to Crops During Sprays
You risk damaging your crops whenever you take heavy machinery through a field. You must drive tractors through the field to apply the materials when traditional farming methods are employed. This compacts the ground and can even crush sections of crop, rendering it unusable and therefore unprofitable.
Drones are much more gentle in their approach. Since they fly over the crops and don’t drive on top of them, your drones are less likely to damage or destroy sections of your field. This means more usable crops and, ultimately, a higher profit.
Ready to Learn More?
Contact us today to learn how drones can change your industry and day-to-day processes. Our capable team will work with you to ensure your questions are answered, and you receive the right advice for any job. To guarantee this, we offer free consultations from our professional team to ensure you get precise answers to all your questions.
