Shropshire Star

Eye in the sky keeps a watch on Shropshire livestock

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the latest technology being used by smart farmers in Shropshire to help keep a bird's eye view on their land and animals.

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Sion Rowlands at the controls as the UAV lifts off for work over the fields

Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs as they are known, have been used extensively by the military in recent years, particularly in war-torn Afghanistan.

And police forces have also taken them on as a way to take an aerial view of mass crowds or emergencies like fires and explosions.

But they have a new, more peaceful, role – over the rolling hills of farmland in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

So much so that Harper Adams University, near Newport, is organising special demonstrations to show farmers the tricks of the trade.

The aerial drones take to the skies and collect large amounts of information and pictures.

They can provide farmers with a more economical way to spray for pests and diseases, analyse soil patterns and check crops.

The UAVs can either be remote controlled or can fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans.

Harper Adams University is working with Korec, a company that specialises in supplying surveying, mapping, machine control and geospatial positioning technology to a variety of industries.

Martyn Palmer, from Korec, says the firm is now seeing an explosion in interest from farmers, including several in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

He said: "UAVs have only been around for the last three or four years. It has really come about by the miniaturisation of technology.

"We got into this about two years ago and they are perfect for agriculture."

Three types of state-of-the-art drones were featured at Harper Adams during a training course for farmer held this week– the Trimble Gatewing X100 and SenseFly Ebee fixed wing systems and the Aibot X6 hexacopter rotary option.

Sion Rowlands, a UAV pilot from Korec, was brought in to demonstrate two of the models to a group of 25 farmers.

Mr Palmer said the machines, which can cost thousands of pounds, are perfect for farmers who want to see their land in its entirety. They can show up areas of crops that aren't growing properly or might need extra irrigation.

They can also keep track of livestock at one easy glance.

He added: "This technology is increasingly being used to look at the health of crops. An agronomist can look at the data and tell a farmer where they need to fertilise.

"We have even had enquiries about the monitoring of sheep on remote hillsides using the machines."

Leo Biggs, a research assistant in the engineering department at Harper Adams, helped organise the event.

He said: "There is an increasing willingness of farmers to turn to technology and these aircraft are becoming more popular in the agricultural sector. They can be used to assess crop health with the ability to look at crop damage and disease amongst other capabilities.

"They can also be used as a tool for keeping track of livestock.

Sion Rowlands, of Korec, prepares the Aibot X6 hexacopter for take-off
Sion Rowlands at the controls as the UAV lifts off for work over the fields
Harper Adams as seen from one of the aircraft
Sion Rowlands with the Gatewing X100

"As a result, we think this is a piece of technology that could be used very effectively at the university in these areas and for research into new areas not yet explored."

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