
Farmers can map farm fields and check crop conditions with a farm drone. Mapping platforms are highly detailed and can record conditions throughout the growing season, which can be very useful in comparing years of growing conditions of the same field. A farmer can choose either a brief or a thorough flyover depending on the level of detail needed.
How Much Time Do You Have?
The easiest way to check your field is to do a brief flyover, looking for color changes and taking photos of the problem areas. However, this method of field scouting does not give a complete picture that farmers can use to make future comparisons either during the growing season or over the years. This only provides a basic overview of conditions that may require further investigation when more time is available.
Using a mapping platform to put hundreds or thousands of photos together into a single map is much better at identifying problems. Putting these photos together to create a field map is called "stitching", which the farmer can then analyze to show details and specific areas needing attention. These mapping systems can also create shape files to pinpoint particular areas of the field.
Choose the Best Drone Mapping Platform to Fit Your Needs
Choosing the best platform for mapping a farm field depends on the farmer's needs. Here is a list of considerations to consider when selecting the best mapping system for the farm:
- Cost – platforms vary in price. Some are subscription-based and can be available to the subscriber for several months or a year. Other platforms are stand-alone products installed as a program on your computer. These products vary considerably in cost.
- Flight Features – Certain products like Drone Deploy, Agisoft Metashape, and Pix4D can create a mission and automatically fly your drone when the user sets operational parameters. Agremo has no feature to fly your drone automatically, but the farmer uploads mapping photos upon flight completion to the online system post-flight. Your drone may have a smart controller that allows the operator to build a field mapping flight plan. There are apps for drones that the producer can use for mapping
- Offline or Cloud-based – Pix4D and Agisoft Metashape offer a combination of offline computer-based and online cloud-based map processing, depending on your needs. Drone Deploy and Agremo render maps completely online in the cloud. Web-based cloud systems require a very high-speed internet connection with a high limit on internet use, which can be a problem in rural areas. DJI Terra is completely computer-based when processing maps. All systems, even those cloud-based, should have a powerful computer with good graphics and higher-end processors. Platforms entirely rendered on your computer will need a computer with high graphics capability, memory, and processor speed beyond standard farm computers. Larger maps may require overnight processing on the cloud or your computer.
- Other Features – The products mentioned (and others) will do field health maps. Pix4D and AgriSoft Metashape can produce highly detailed field health maps. Others, such as Drone Deploy, may be less graphic but still offer excellent maps of the health of your field. Drone Deploy will accomplish field stand counts early in the season. Agremo provides a host of analysis capabilities, including field health, green snap, lodging, stand counts later in the season, and flowering progress in detailed reports, but requires precise settings for accurate results.
- Ease of Use – Drone Deploy is a relatively easy-to-use system for farm producers wanting simplicity. Systems providing more sophisticated results require a longer learning curve and have more tedious settings to achieve the best results. DJI Terra works best when paired with more sophisticated DJI camera drones, such as the Mavic 3M Multi-Spectral.
- Support – Most systems offer online training videos and manuals. There are also independent educational materials. Drone Deploy provides real-time chat support online for those needing clarification in working through challenges. Pix4D offers support tickets through email, but they are not available in real-time. DJI offers real-time phone support for its drone, but lacks this for its Terra product, and has limited educational material.
Drone mapping platforms are a handy tool for farm operators. These products vary in many ways in their practical application. Carefully choose which of these tools is right for any farm operation.