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Agricultural Producers Discover Potential of Drones
Agricultural Producers Discover Potential of Drones
Michelle PinonNews Advertiser
Agricultural Producers had the opportunity to discover the many ways drones bring value to farms during a hands-on demonstration at Tandem T Farms in Smoky Lake County on July 24.
The event was hosted by Lakeland Agricultural Research Association (LARA) in partnership with LandView Drones and Smoky Lake County. Tori Ponich, who owns Tandem T Farms with husband Thomas, is a member of Smoky Lake County’s Agricultural Service Board and said she wanted to see how agricultural drones operate and was excited to host other agricultural producers at their farm.
Tori had previously taken a drone flying course and said she is hoping to be able to apply what’s she’s learned in the future. She said drones are “so versatile” with a variety of different uses as they can do: broadcast seeding, spraying, precision mapping, thermal imaging, livestock tag reading, etc.
LandView Drones Owner Markus Weber gave a brief overview of drones, its capabilities as well as programming for various functions to a group of 15 producers before the start of the hands-on demonstration where he showcased three types of different drones.
Weber said the company offers a two-day drone school, drone spraying clinic and advanced training course.
Lyle Morgenstern, who operates a mixed grain and cattle farm near Loon Lake, Saskatchewan, flew one of the drones and said the demonstration was very interesting and said he like the idea of using drones for desiccation.
LARA Executive Director Alyssa Krawchuk said, “We, (LARA) have hosted an Ag Drone School in 2023 as well as a Drone Spraying Demonstration in Fort Kent in the summer of 2023. LandView drones has long been an advocate for advancement in agriculture, particularly with the many uses of drones.”
Krawchuk said a total of 24 people attended the demonstration, and noted that, “Smoky Lake County is a strong advocate for their agriculture community and the continued advancement for the agriculture producers.
The demonstration went very well, great comments from attendees regarding the material and ability to see drones in action hands-on. We tentatively have an Ag Drone School booked for early November in Smoky Lake County, more details will come as we bring the event together.”
There’s no question that drones in agriculture are becoming a powerful tool for monitoring crops and livestock with evolving technology and higher resolution imagery, enabling more detailed data gathering. Drones continue to emerge in the ag tech industry and their potential is just beginning to be tapped by producers.
