ALLIED
BULLetin
Spring 2016
Volume 2, Issue 1
HIGH-TECH Oversight Drone Use in the Cattle Industry Takes Off By Jared Wareham, Allied Genetic Resources As you gaze across the ever-changing technological landscape, what do you see? In addition to the undulating peaks of the smart device revolution that’s well underway, what other far out technologies grasp your attention? Presently, the majority of the most innovative technology exists in the row crop sector of agriculture. However, the inevitable tide of progression is slowly leaching through to the beef industry. The use of aerial drones is a prime example. Can you envision the impact they could have on how beef businesses operate over the next decade? Let’s take a look at what they currently offer, federal regulations governing use, and some outside-the-box ideas that could become reality. This high-tech tool has begun to find its sea legs in select niches prepared to embrace unconventional concepts, such as the beef marketing segment. With their superb photography and
videography capabilities, cutting edge marketers have found ways to enhance the visual dynamics of their products’ forms and functions. Combine the drone technology with high-speed smart devices and a potential buyer can study a new product from almost anywhere in the world. Would you like to get a cow’s eye view as she travels through a new serpentine alleyway to make sure it’s the one you want? Quality video is now effortlessly captured by flying a drone equipped with GPS and auto-leveling capabilities through the alleyway at a cow or calf ’s eye level. Several cattle handling companies have already started offering enhanced product videos that give the buyer an up-close “animal” view, as well as, a bird’s eye view from above the equipment in operation during the cattle handling process. Ben Spitzer of Silo & Company Productions in Texas is one such pioneer currently using drone technology for marketing, as well as ranch management.
While filming videos for cattle equipment companies, he was able to gather beneficial insight into another advantage drones provide. “Cattlemen can learn a lot about animal behavior and how they respond to pressure by watching video captured from above during the gathering and sorting process. Using that footage will increase your understanding of herding habits, which can increase your effectiveness at quality animal handling practices. This reduces the stress on the cattle and the cattleman,” he said. The bird’s eye view capability has also landed the drone as a premier way for realtors to capture breathtaking aerial footage of ranches for sale. A complete video profile of the property lines, interior grazing paddocks, agriculture buildings, and corrals can be captured with views from 5-400 feet high. There is a legitimate role for these unmanned aerial scouts in beef production systems that have significant infrastructures to govern and analyze on a daily basis, such as ranches with expansive acreages and large feedlots. Ranchers and cattle managers are already adopting the use of drones to aid with checking cattle and fences, because of their ability to scan large areas from a tactical point-of-view. Spitzer also elaborates on his recent experience with drone usage on the 3K Ranch in Texas. “During the severe flooding we had this past spring, my drone became an invaluable tool for us. We were able to survey all of our boundary fences with the drone to determine the amount of damage that had been done. We could fly into places that were otherwise unreachable. This allowed us to gather supplies and form a strategy ahead of time, so that when the flood waters receded, we were ready to make immediate repairs keeping the ranch fully operational,” he said.
Ben Spitzer of Silo & Co Productions using his drone to produce high quality footage for New Day Genetics.
Managers will also spend substantially less time pinpointing the exact location of cattle herds by observing footage sent back to their mobile phones from the drones. He or she can use the drone to fly into areas enveloped with difficult terrain that could require hours to cover by ATV or horseback. Furthermore, a properly trained