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More and more fields and industries use drones for varying reasons, and farming is no exception to this rule. Farmers now turn to drone technology to help them with numerous agriculture-related tasks, but it may still be challenging to understand which drone meets your exact needs. The next sections explain what a drone for agriculture is and presents several models and their best uses in this field.
Drones can help farmers automate or simplify numerous tasks. Some of the primary uses are listed below:
Monitor crops and weeds
Analysis of plant health, soil, and more
Aerial planting and spraying
Monitoring livestock
Analysis of irrigation levels (too much or not enough water)
In order to perform these tasks, drones specifically made for agricultural purposes possess specific systems, sensors, and features that you cannot find in other models. The two main types of drones for agriculture are fixed-wing and multi-rotor. The first type is faster, has a longer battery life , and is more expensive, ideal for professional uses or large farms.
The budget-friendly option is the multi-rotor drone for agriculture, and these are easier to control. As a reference, a fixed-wing model can fly for about one hour and covers up to 900 acres, while a multi-rotor drone can fly a maximum of 40 minutes and covers up to 200 acres.
Apart from the drone itself, many farmers also purchase software subscriptions. Certain services, such as PrecisionAnalytics or DroneDeploy, create a map on which you can see different types of data related to your farm, such as plant population and health.
Features
Best for: Mapping
Flight time: 90 minutes
Area covered: 500 acres per charge
Type: Fixed-wing
Software Included: Yes
Camera Included: No
One of the best drones for agriculture is the complex SenseFly Ebee X. Ideal for large farms, it can cover up to 500 acres in one charge, and it flies for about 90 minutes. It is incredibly efficient, and it offers a deep insight into soil temperature, plant counts, irrigation level, 3D mapping, and even vegetation indices .
The SenseFly eBee X is suitable for challenging weather, and it is extremely easy to use. Users need to throw the drone into the air to make it take off, while the steep landing feature means that it can easily land on any type of surface. Although the base model does not come with a camera, you can choose a different model to get extra functionality, such as SenseFly SODA 3D for 3D reconstructions, Aeria X for quicker mapping, and Duet T for thermal maps, among others.
Best for: Spraying
Flight time: 10 minutes
Area covered: 10 acres per charge
Type: Multi-rotor (eight)
Liquid Tank: 10L
DJI Agras MG-15 is the ultimate drone for agriculture if you need the most advanced spraying system. It is ideal for applying fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides with increased efficiency and convenience. It comes with a flight controller with three flight methods: manual, manual plus, and smart, depending on your needs.
The smart mode does not require any software or mapping know-how, turning DJI Agras MG-1S into one of the most user-friendly spraying drones available. The manual plus mode is fully automatic, while the manual mode allows you to control the flight, which is ideal for experienced pilots.
Best for: Precise mapping for large areas
Flight time: Up to 59 minutes
Area covered: 300 acres
Camera Included: Yes
The Delair UX11 boasts convenience and simplicity for quick and easy mapping. It is dedicated to large areas and has one of the longest flight times, up to 59 minutes. Also, it comes with an integrated camera, which is industrial-Grade RGB and has 1 cm GSD imagery. In addition to this, it comes with Delair After Flight software, which processes your data. It also has an image resolution of 21.3 Mpix, and it is suitable for moderate rain and wind (up to to 28 mph).
Best for: Crop consulting
Flight time: 31 minutes
Software Included: No
If you need to check your field for disease or other stress factors, the DJI Mavic 2 Pro might be the best solution. It is not specially designed for agriculture as the drone is extremely versatile, but it turns into a powerful farming solution when paired with the separated double 4K sensor.
As a result, the updated double 4K sensor can be used in agriculture in order to analyze the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), HD color RGB crop health, and normalized difference red edge (NDRE). If you already own a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, you can simply opt for an upgrade of your device.
Best for: Crop analysis
Flight time: 59 minutes
Area covered: 700 acres
Sentera offers a complete system for agricultural purposes. Their PHX system is reliable and convenient, offering quality HD videos. The drone is ideal for capturing a wide range of data, including weed population, plant health, and stand count. It is suitable for experiences plots looking for deep analytics.
Sentera’s system offers access to FieldData software to create maps and get access to data even without an internet connection. It can fly for up to 2 miles and has a quick setup due to the user-friendly, lightweight build.
Best for: Multipurpose data collection
Flight time: 35 minutes
Area covered: 200 acres
Type: Multi-Rotor
The smart farming bundle is a cheaper alternative if you need an all-in-one solution. It comes with everything you need to get started right away: the fully assembled Matrice 100 drone, a one-year subscription to DataMapper software with 2D and 3D mapping, crop analytics, and up to 150 GB storage. Other items included in the bundle are an in-flight software mobile app, a travel case, a visual sensor, a multispectral sensor, and even extra batteries to prolong the flight time.
The two sensors help you identify different aspects of your field, such as plant count, drainage mapping, canopy coverage density, plant health, weed mapping, anomalies, and even weather damage assessment. This multispectral bundle is well integrated, tested, and ready to be used out of the box.
Best for: Plant health and irrigation
Flight time: 25 minutes
Area covered: 160 acres
This drone for agriculture uses thermal technology to diagnose or detect plant health problems, which is essential if you want to maximize your crop yield. In addition to this, the smart Sentera Omni Drone is used to determine under- or over-irrigated crops, helping you to identify potentially malfunctioning irrigation systems. The drone allows you to identify drain tiles quickly as well. Finally, this quad offers live information, so you can see the health of your crops live as it flies.
Best for: Crop mapping and aerial scouting
Flight time: 25 minutes per charge (3 batteries included)
Parrot Bluegrass Fields is another all-in-one agricultural solution that facilitates crop analysis. It comes with two cameras, a full HD video camera, and the Parrot multispectral sensor. Although it can fly up to 25 minutes at a time, the bundle includes three batteries so that you can extend the flight time considerably.
Fortunately, the Parrot Bluegrass Fields has two modes: fully automatic or manual, ideal for both experienced and beginner pilots. The data can be monitored using the mobile phone, while the Skycontroller 2 included in the bundle eases the drone’s control. Finally, the drone comes with free access to Pix3DFields, a drone mapping software used in agriculture. This allows you to generate maps for performance analysis, compare crop trends, check fertilization rates, and many more.
Best for: Crop health
Flight time: 30 minutes
Finally, the Parrot Disco Pro AG is the fixed-wing alternative for the Bluegrass Fields above. It is easy to use and offers advanced analytics regarding crop health. It comes to access to the Pix4DCapture software and has the Sequoia multispectral sensor. This analyzes crop health by registering the amount of light absorbed and reflected by plants.
The drone boasts convenience and ease of use due to its advanced autopilot system and automatic landing. The controller included in the package uses a Wi-Fi connection, delivering quality live video streaming to your phone.
All in all, the best drone for agriculture is what you find the most convenient and easy to use as there are plenty of models suitable for advanced and beginner pilots alike. The research and development of drones for different fields, including agriculture, is still in its infancy. Still, these are the first steps towards precision agriculture that is hoped to improve crop yield and efficiency.
Jeremiah Burnett
What started as a gift for my two sons turned into a major hobby for me! After playing with my sons' quadcopter one winter afternoon, I quickly became obsessed with all things drone. I enjoy precision flying, creating stunning and smooth aerial videos, and taking beautiful photos of my hometown.
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