By Jordan Studer
jstuder@wbcowqel.com
Over the years farming technology has advanced rapidly from doing everything on foot to riding farm equipment. Now a newer technology can allow farmers to do some of their farming tasks with just a remote in their hands.
On Wednesday morning, many gathered at the Cranberry Hills Golf Course in New Washington for an event that took farming efforts to a whole new level, literally. The Richland County Farm Bureau organized an event with Crawford County and Erie County and held it in an area close for all the counties. The event was about using drones for farming purposes.
When asking Fred Cooke of the Richland Farm Bureau why they chose to have an event dedicated to drone use for farmers, Fred answered with great passion.
“We want to try and put on programs that help educate people about agriculture and anybody with similar interests, this just fits the bill. It’s impressive, really,” Fred explained.
The Farm Bureau brought in Tom Cooke to speak and demonstrate at the event. Tom has found a fascination with drones and he has studied the ins and outs of what everyone should know before purchasing or using a drone themselves.
The majority of the event was spent informing everyone of the various regulations that come along with having a drone. One thing that was touched on was how to get a pilot’s license to fly drones commercially.
The price to take this written test to get a license is $150. One must be sixteen years of age to be considered able to receive a license. They must pass a TSA background check and do a pre-flight check as well. The list of regulations was quite lengthy.
He also explained the flight class, Class G, that drones are to be flown in as well as the new regulations that go along with it. The flight classes are determined by the areas that the aircraft may fly within. In Class G, the drones can fly under 400 feet in the air, but no higher unless there is a taller object next to it. It was explained that this is a safety issue to try to prevent accidents because airplanes can fly as low as 500 feet above ground level.
“You can fly anywhere within Class G Airspace with no airport permission,” Tom explained.
Tom then said that if one does not fly their drone with the regulations of Class G, they must get permission from the nearest airport to fly their drone so that accidents can be prevented.
Also within Class G, the drones must stay within the sight of the operator and can only be flown from sunrise to sunset. Tom explained, however, that just as with anything else there are always exceptions. The regulations then state that a drone can be flown for 30 minutes prior to sunrise or 30 minutes after sunset if, and only if, the drone possesses a light that is visible for 3 miles.
After touching on regulations, Tom described to the group that there are many ways that farmers can use drones and their cameras to help them with their daily work. One thing he mentioned was taking a look at the fields to make sure their crops are growing as they should. It was also mentioned that farmers could take a look at the tile in their fields to make sure they are working properly and flowing water as they should.
Farmers present at the event mentioned that if they have a drone they could take aerial photos of their own land for free rather than purchasing them from salesmen who try to sell them to the property owners for a large amount of money.
Tom believes that there can be many various ways to use the drones that could be of use to a vast amount of farmers.
“I suppose dairy farmers could even use it to make sure that all of their cattle are in the pasture and none are astray,” Tom said with a smile while listing off uses for farmers.
The advancement of drone use was also touched on as Tom showed the crowd videos and photos that he had taken with his own drone. He raved about and demonstrated how the newer cameras that are on the drones can take wonderful quality pictures that can show many details.
To finish up the event, Tom took one of his drones outside and used the putting green of one of the holes as a runway for his drone. The group gathered, fascinated, as the drone flew around a good distance of the golf course with its camera on.
Many were watching the drone fly while others were interested in watching the T.V. screen brought out that was showing what the drone camera was seeing. Many present at the event seemed very intrigued by the thought of using drones to aid them in their farming chores, which really could take everyday farming to a level beyond wheels on the farm ground.