Drones in Agriculture

The Sandhill Crane Festival in Othello will host Dr. Sindhuja Sankaran. She will be speaking about the future impact of drones in agriculture. Drones are aerial vehicles that do not carry humans and are computer operated.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has congressionally mandated to open United States air space for the commercial use of drones by 2015. An estimated economic impact of about $13.6 billion is anticipated in the first three years, with one of the potential markets being precision agriculture.

This presentation will highlight some of the applications, benefits and limitations of the technology pertinent to Washington agriculture. Some designed drones are fitted with cameras in which producers will be able to get a birds eye view of there crops. Another potential advantage of drones will be infrared imaging, which can help detect differences in plants health.

Dr. Sankaran is a researcher at Washington State University who works on advanced sensing technologies for various agricultural applications. She earned her PhD in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at North Dakota State University.

The Sandhill Crane Festival will take place in Othello on March 28-30. For more information call 1-866-SANDHIL or visit the Sandhill Crane Festival website.