Drone uses explored at Farm Forum in Staples

Hannah Barrett, research coordinator at Central Lakes College Ag and Energy Center in Staples, shows the program’s drone to the farmers attending the Farm Forum held Dec. 6. Barrett gave an examples of how to upload a flight plan to the drone to have it photograph a field and map points where crops are not getting the proper nutrients. She also spoke on other possible uses for drones such as adding a heat seeking device to the drone’s camera allowing it to identify when a cow was in heat and ready to breed. She said an aphid detector is being developed to help in the search of insects in fields. More common uses of the drone are for research and viewing of irrigation systems while they’re running. The annual farm forum is sponsored by First International Bank, the Farm Business Management program and the Ag & Energy Center. (Staples World photo by Mark Anderson)