Open Day 2016

Drones theme

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Drones Safety and Flying

Nic Wilke, Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Teacher, TAFE NSW Riverina Institute
What we will talk about:
• Proposed changes to the legislation around RPAS that will impact on farmers or very small class drones.
• Regulations around drone use.
• Safety around drone use.
• Practical demonstrations.

Farmer ready drones to capture NDVI and how it compares to satellite imagery

Andrew Watt, Hutcheon & Pearce
There is a lot of talk at the moment about drones and their place in our industry. This session will touch on the many uses of drones on the farm and focus on how capturing NDVI crop health imagery from drones can fit into your operation. We will also discuss the comparisons between drone imagery versus satellite imagery and some potential sources of information. The comparisons will include:

  • cost

  • resolutions

  • scale

  • atmospheric issues

  • data requirements

  • turnaround times

Managing paddock variability with soil maps, NDVI imagery and yield data

Andrew Whitlock, Precision Agriculture
There is a tremendous amount of hype around precision agriculture, big data, drones and satellite imagery. Through the use of local examples Andrew Whitlock (Director of Precision Agriculture P/L) will explain how to integrate spatial data (soil, NDVI and Yield maps) with localised farm knowledge to deliver profitable outcomes. The key to this entire process is starting with a strong understanding of what is driving within-paddock variability!

Satellite Imagery Basics, PA Source and ProductionWise

Drew Christian, GrainGrowers
With modern technologies providing greater access to spatial data in agriculture, it is key to have a broad understanding of what is available and the applications of how the data can be used to support in-field decisions. Access to spatial imagery has become increasingly affordable and imagery from satellites, UAV’s and other sensors is likely to be the next source of efficiency improvement for growers/advisers enabling scouting of target areas for in-crop inspection much more efficiently and comprehensively than from the cab of a ute.
Most imagery products rely on sensors measuring the visible and near infra-red spectrum providing distinctive crop patterns and how variation of substrate materials effect crop development. Understanding the resolution of imagery, how sensitive the imagery can be to spatial variation and how that changes as the crop develops and the colour schema used to represent the data all play a part in what the imagery is telling you. The integration of satellite imagery into decision support systems is immature in Australia. GrainGrowers through PA Source and ProductionWise are actively developing the ability to order, view and creatively utilise season-long NDVI imagery in conjunction with paddock management activities and spatially relevant climatic information to deliver a single platform enabling a targeted approach to seasonal decision making processes.