Aerial Drones in Agriculture

Overview

Weeds, diseases, insects, and abiotic stress caused by weather and soil conditions are issues that weigh heavily on every grower, every year.  Assessing crop stress during the growing season is best done with scouting ~ especially with the use of aerial drones.  The primary goal of scouting is to detect crop stress and apply the correct mitigating actions at the right time ensuring the economic benefits outweigh the required costs.

NDVI Imagery

NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) imagery is a method of determining crop health by measuring the index of plant 'greenness' or photosynthetic activity, and it is one of the most commonly used vegetation indices.  NDVI imagery is used to determine crop health and helps farmers and agronomists track stresses and growth performances of crop fields.

Services

By using agricultural drone services from Air Studio LLC, farmers and cooperatives will be able to efficiently and quickly analyze crops in early stages of growth.  This data can be utilized to improve growing practices and compare year over year results, all resulting in a decrease in crop loss and an increase in overall profit.  The data will be analyzed using a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone outfitted with a Sentera NDVI imagery camera.  The data will be analyzed and shared via a software called FieldAgent.  This software captures live data, so the farmers are able to get live results as the drone is in the air.  In the case of a disaster or wind storm, Air Studio LLC can be called in to perform crop damage inspections and/or insurance claims.

Benefits

Benefits include a reduction in crop yield loss, potential for reduced crop insurance rates due to self-analysis of crop fields, improved claims in the case of crop damage or loss, and increased overall profits.