Using UAS to Collect Plot Data
Extension Education
Terrell Davis
CEA - Agriculture
University of Tennessee Institute of Ag
Dyersburg
Abstract
Scouting fields for farmers and conducting plot work are routine tasks for County Extension agents. Walking fields can be time intensive and large fields may portions that go unchecked. By utilizing a UAS, or drone, to get a bird's eye view of a field, an agent can make more efficient use of time by easily identifying problem areas and follow with ground truthing. In the Summer of 2023, Dyer Co Extension purchased a Mavic 3 Pro to be flown over fields for this purpose. The UAS was launched once weekly from June through August to scout the corn and soybean County Standardized Test, CST, plots. Examples of issues documented include nutrient deficiencies, weed pressure, and drought effects. An additional benefit to drone footage was the ability to video planting and harvest activities to educate the public about crop production. Videos for the corn and soybean variety trials were created using harvest footage to summarize county variety plot data. The video was published on YouTube and Facebook in November 2023. The soybean video was viewed 80 times and the corn video was viewed 129 times.
Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC
This poster is being submitted for judging. It will be displayed at the AM/PIC if not selected as a State winner. The abstract will be published in the proceedings.
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Authors: Terrell Davis
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Davis, T. CEA - Agriculture, University of Tennessee, Tennessee, 38024