Precision agriculture can help farmers increase the yield of their plots and also accurately visualise how the crops on these plots are developing. This information is of interest not only to farmers, but also to the food processing industry. "Our data has value for the entire chain," states Bert Rijk of Aurea Imaging. Aurea Imaging is one of the companies associated with the Dronewerkers.nl collective.
"Aurea Imaging has been deploying drones in the agricultural sector, among others, since 2008," explains Rijk. "We fly drones equipped with multispectral sensors. Using these sensors, we map the condition of the crop on a plot. This enables us to understand where the good and, on the contrary, the worse spots are within a plot, so that the customer can respond accordingly and optimise the yield of a plot. This can be done by applying more or, on the contrary, less fertilisers in certain areas and targeted spraying with crop protection products."
Substantial profits
This can yield hefty profits. "Thanks to our data, it is no longer necessary to spray the entire plot with crop protection products, but only to apply these products where they are really needed. As a result, we have managed to reduce the use of certain crop protection products by 80%," says Rijk. "In addition, the yield of a plot can be increased. The gain here depends on the specific situation. On average, we increase the yield of a plot by about 10%."
"We work with agricultural advisory organisations, among others, who help interpret the data we collect with our drones. The data is then compiled into a report and converted into a task map. This map can be loaded into a tractor, sprayer or fertiliser spreader to enable variable application of fertiliser, for example."
Development through the season
"One measurement already gives good insight into the variation within the crop. However, a plot is dynamic through a growing season, so a second flight at the end of a season can give a different picture. It can therefore be interesting to carry out multiple measurements at, say, four or five different times spread over the season, giving more insight into crop development through the season."
"The information we provide has value for the entire chain. For the processing industry, for example, it is interesting to know at an early stage what quantity and quality of a particular crop they will receive from a customer, so they can anticipate this."
Dronewerkers.co.uk
"Two years ago, we joined forces with two other drone companies to set up a nationwide network of drone pilots. This allows us to join forces. Drone flights are a local product after all, requiring us to physically drive to a plot to fly the drone. By cooperating with other drone pilots, we can operate throughout the Netherlands, and still offer a local product," concludes Rijk. Dronewerkers.nl was founded by Aurea Imaging in collaboration with Christel Thijssen's Loonbedrijf Thijssen and Peter Holster's AkkerAnalyse. The collective is expanding for the 2017 season with two new companies: ABdrone of Leks Bolderdijk and MDL Agro of Peter van de Merwe and Mark de Leeuw.
By: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photos: Shutterstock
