Drone owners, especially farmers, are being urged to fully understand the implications of using drones on their land. This course offers up to date advice on the applications for drones in crop production, the rules governing drone use and how drones can collect vital information to help with everyday farming decisions.
This introductory online course provides an overview of the potential applications of drones in crop management and covers key areas such as; Sampling Considerations, Sensor Types, Integration and Selection, Data Collection, Processing and Interpretation (in an agricultural context), plus CAA Legislation.
This course is aimed at people who have had no prior experience of using drones or remote sensing imagery. It would be a suitable course for Small Farm Owners, Farm Business Managers, Researchers in agribusinesses, Government agency employees and Agri-consultants.
Accurate information regarding crop production is becoming increasingly important. This information is needed for effective (localised) crop management decisions to increased crop production and improved timely and on-demand response. Traditional crop monitoring methods, using ground survey and aerial photography, have their limitations, in terms of cost, resolution and time to deployment for data capture.
The use of lightweight (<7 kg) and easily deployable drones can overcome this limitation. Given the increased availability of low-cost drone platforms and the increased requirement from industry, government and society alike for improved land management the use of drone in crop management is increasing.
As just one example, see this article on a drone rental company helping farmers check the health of crops and use pestercidewhere precisely where it is needed.
The e-Learning materials that make up the course include; interactive exercises, instructional videos and review quizzes (formative assessment)
On successful completion of the course, participants will be able to:
This online short course will contain the following sessions:
Monica Rivas Casado
Dan Simms
Toby Waine
Tim Brewer
Iq Mead
Craig Lippett
AgriFood Training Partnership
The University of Reading
PO Box 226, Whiteknights
Reading RG6 6AP