Page 6 - Salute to Arkansas Farm Families

6H • Thursday, December 8, 2016 • Salute to Farm Families
Advertising Supplement to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The cutting edge
Arkansas farmers prepare for the future
“We will know how useful [drones] are very quickly when they get out into the mar- ket more and more, and you start hearing the feedback,” he said.
For more information on FAA drone regulations, visit www.faa.gov.
Other technology that is becoming more and more prevalent on Arkansas farms is guidance and automatic steering systems. These systems use global positioning sys- tems to give those who are driving tractors better control over harvesting. These systems can reduce fatigue, decrease gaps and over- laps, and improve accuracy.
Tractors equipped with this GPS tech- nology and equipment to monitor yields can give farmers even more data to help them understand which sections of their property produced more product and are the most profitable. This georeferenced spacial analysis can generate thousands of data points that farmers can use to make future planting decisions.
“You get this huge data set that you can make maps out of and understand what part of the field maybe was more profitable due to high yield versus areas of the field that did not produce well,” he said.
By Cody Graves
SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER
Technology has become a big part of people’s lives over the past de- cade. They can purchase inexpensive
drones for hobby flying and use smartphones to find their way around town. Now, the state’s farmers are using similar technologies to improve their farms’ profits.
One of the most promising farm tech- nologies is the use of drones. These small unmanned aircraft have many potential uses on farms. The popularity of drones has risen among hobbyists over the past decade as a result of a decrease in the cost of drones, and now farmers can reap the benefits this technology offers.
A drone’s ability to give a bird’s-eye view of crops and livestock is beneficial to farmers. This information can be useful in cases of storm damage. A farmer could
use the drone to take high-resolution photos, then use software to determine how much of a crop has been damaged. Another use could be for a rice farmer to quickly evaluate levee gates.
Terry Spurlock, assistant professor and extension plant pathologist at the University of Arkansas System Coopera- tive Extensive Service in Monticello, said one of the current issues with drones is that the Federal Aviation Administration has only recently created regulations for their commercial operation.
“At this point, we really can’t say what we can and can’t see because we haven’t had the laws in place for us, as scientists, long enough to actually go out and deter- mine how useful this stuff is,” he said. “We just haven’t collected enough data.”
In order to operate a drone for com- mercial purposes, the FAA requires that the operator obtain a Remote Pilot Airman
A tractor equipped with global-positioning tech- nology can be used to improve crop yields and increase profitability.
certificate, the drone must be registered, and the aircraft must be kept in sight.
While the regulations are new and the applications are still being tested, Spurlock said that the more farmers use drones, the better the technology will get. Scientists are still studying the technology, he said, to see how useful it will be as far as farm profitabil- ity, disease detection and pest detection.
Congratulations
Arkansas
Farm
Families
of the Year
North Little Rock Pendleton Yellow Bend Morrilton Dardanelle
800-467-7517
Salutes All Farm Families
www.cfarkansas.com
Little Rock Farmers Market 400 President Clinton Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
Saturdays, May-September, 7am-3pm Diana Long - General Manager 501-320-3503 • www.rivermarket.info
Clark’s Pecan Grove
59 Jones Lane, Mayflower, AR 501-454-2667 • cowsandpecans.com
30 acres of Paper Shell, Pawnee, Stuart, Desirable, and Native pecan trees, plus pecan wood for BBQs also available
Flying C Ranch
725 Rocky Point Rd., Conway, AR 501-454-2667 • cowsandpecans.com Freezer beef from grass-fed, grain-finished cattle, with hay & straw also available
Toltec Hay Farm
Jack & Betty Whitfield • 501-837-6528 All types of good livestock, hay & straw, square bales $2.50, $4.00 & $5.00. Round rolls $15.00, $25.00 & $35.00
Matthews RidgeviewFarms 2400 Bartlett Rd.,Wynne, AR 72396 870-238-8828 • arsweetpotatoes.com Growing & distributing sweet potatoes for five generations for over 100 years