I got to speak with Thomas Haun, senior vice president of PrecisionHawk at the recent Farm Progress Show and learned something every farmer will be glad to hear: drones are tools, not toys.
As proof of this claim Haun walked me through their booth, pointing out the new DJI Matrice 100 drone that can be used to survey a large field. PrecisionHawk provides software for this drone that allows it to scout crops, even to the detailed level of counting plants. Then, with their satellite partner, PrecisionHawk can layer satellite and drone data to look at change over time; an action which provides a lot more information than looking a a single moment.
“PrecisionHawk’s specialty and focus is really on turning that data into an insight,” Haun explained. “So not only do we hand a grower raw data, which we do, but we also hand them something they didn’t know about their farm before. It could be exactly how many plants are in their field, or what is the height of the plants across their field. So by being able to give them that new piece of information we believe their management practices will get that much better.”
They also make sure those insight are actionable, with shape files that can be uploaded straight to the tractor for, say, purposes of replanting. They’re also a full service company and will come to your farm to capture data for you. A recent FAA allowance gives PrecisionHawk the ability to fly beyond line of sight, meaning that Matrice 100 can now cover your whole farm, rather than just a field.
To learn more about how PrecisionHawk is turning technology into solutions, listen to my full interview with Haun here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/FPS16-PrecisionHawk-Haun.mp3″ text=”Interview with Thomas Haun, PrecisionHawk”]
2016 Farm Progress Show Photos
