Are drones the next big thing?

[BelindaSRUC]

What do you think about drones? Do you think they will be useful for crop management and would you want to use them?

I'm currently working with the the Advanced technologies for Efficient Crop Management (ATEC) team in SRUC (Scotland's Rural College) where we are designing the next generation of drone-mounted sensing tools to help improve crop management.

We are really keen to ensure that we develop tools that land managers and farmers really want, that provide the data they need and is most useful. We also want to know what farmers and land managers don't like about them and if people think they are just another fancy bit of kit that isn't really needed!

So we would really appreciate it if TFF members would be willing to add their opinion on drones as a tool for crop management to that of other farmers and land managers by completing this survey:

https://qtrial2019q2az1.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e2TmhY8UcLg4zdj

It takes less than 10 minutes and for every survey completed, we will be donating £4 to the Charity Air Ambulance service here in Scotland, which provides emergency services to people in remote areas who experience on-farm and machinery related injuries.

Thanks so much for your help - if anyone has any questions, please just let me know.
Belinda

 

[Briantee]

Why would any farmer give away all their valuable information/knowledge for free?

 

[BelindaSRUC]

Hi Brian,

Many thanks, this is a good question.
Unfortunately, there are various internal organisational policies which mean I am not permitted to provide a direct incentive (e.g. money) to people, however, we have pledged to make a charitable donation of £4 for every survey completed. Many companies that do UX (i.e. user experience) research, pay anywhere from £10 to £25 an hour for people's opinions, as this survey takes 5 minutes on average to complete, the £4 is somewhat comparable to this UX rate.

More importantly though, as research institutes we don't have the same budget as private companies but we are the ones tasked with improving and further developing precision ag in this regard, and I think it would be a real shame if such development was to take place without the knowledge of those who may be using them in the future.

I hope this answers your concerns?

Best wishes,
Belinda

 

[BelindaSRUC]

Many thanks to those who have completed the survey - I really appreciate it.

It will be open online for another week if anyone else would like to contribute their thoughts, and raise a bit of money for the Charity Air Ambulance and the same time.

Best wishes,
Belinda