The power and use of drone technology is showing budding innovation in the agricultural tech fields. At a recent tech conference held at the University of the Fraser Valley, a presentation of the usage and potential effectiveness of drones was shown by Precision Crop Tech.
Pesticide use was lower and more effective, mapping and analyzing large fields took less time, even worker labour can be retooled more effectively, according to the company. Despite these overall benefits, drone usage still has barriers it needs to flyover in Canada: heavily regulated piloting licenses and pesticide testing, to name two.
CIVL spoke to Mark Vendrig, director of Precision Crop Tech, assemblers of drones in Abbotsford, as well as Tristan Bowman, sessional instructor in UFV’s agriculture technology program, to learn more about drone technology in agriculture, and the barriers that lock the technology’s full potential.
