No-tillers wanting to introduce livestock to their operations to boost soil health and add more economic diversity shouldn’t overlook the importance of rapidly-developing “ranch-related” drone technology.

There are many benefits of a grazing component in a farming operation including: improved soil structure and nutrient cycling; residue management and rotational flexibility; and market diversity through the sale of meat, milk, wool and other animal products. Still, someone must manage the additional enterprise, and usually that means hiring at least some additional hard-to-find labor.

Just as in the service industry and manufacturing, where qualified labor is a serious bottleneck, technology is offering growers robotic help in the form of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of working as cowboys. As drones have become common-place on many farms, their abilities are just now catching on with ranchers and graziers.

Many Capabilities

The National Grazing Lands Coalition recently posted an article outlining the way UAVs equipped with cutting-edge technology like thermal cameras, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and spraying systems are transforming the way livestock operations are run. They include:

• Locating animals day or night. With drones producers can find missing animals quickly over long distances and in rugged terrain. Aerial surveillance can help monitor calving and lambing, as well as pinpoint animals suffering from heat stress or illness.
• Better pasture planning. Using LiDAR mapping, ranchers…