ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 32 AGRONOMY continued from page 31 OTHER USES Rivard and his team have tried drone seeding cash crops, such as winter wheat, into soybeans. Success has been much more mixed, but he still encourages others to continue experimenting, and to “not give up on it.” On his own farm, Rivard also uses drones to variable-rate urea — a capability made possible in conjunction with DJI SmartFarm mapping software — although he finds more expensive pay-toplay services more effective. Responding to questions about seeding multi-species covers, Rivard says they have not had trouble, but they opt for tighter flight patterns to ensure even distribution. For context, he says 21 feet (6.4 metres) is their go-to “magic” swath width. Other tried-and-true settings for cover crop application include spinner disc speeds between 600 and 800 rotations per minute, and a flight height between 15 and 30 feet (4.5 and nine metres). Speaking in his capacity as a custom operator, Rivard says he also likes to “fly as fast as possible.” “I’m getting paid by the acre. There’s no drift with seeds.” Never Run Out of Propane. Guaranteed. Behind eve y tank, there's a fa m counting on us to get it ight. That's why Avenir Energy offers wo y-free propane delive y — so your home stays wa m, your business keeps unning, and you never have to think twice about your fuel supply. Reliable. Local. Canadian. Contact Us Today 1-866-410-6144 | avenirenergy.ca TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS These technical preferences apply specifically to the DJI agricultural drones operated and sold by Drone Spray Canada. Ranging from the more compact T25P model to the large T100, the technical capabilities of each model can vary, with Rivard and his colleagues reiterating the importance of active observation by the drone operator. Tyler Hatton, part of Drone Spray Canada’s sales team, cites an instance where a customer crashed his drone twice on the same day after not accounting for a lack of object avoidance capability on return-from-base flights in an older DJI model. Assuming object avoidance was on all the time, and subsequently walking away after refilling, resulted in costly repairs. “Always keep your eyes on the controller,” says Hatton. Odd things can still happen even if all the bells and whistles appear to be operating normally. Other attendees noted cases where their drones, returning to base with low batteries, opted for a direct path through a bush lot rather than flying around obstacles. Rivard himself also pointed to a recent software update that appeared to introduce unexpected gremlins into the machine. Calibration is also important, including doing the math to make sure cover crops or other products are coming out of the drone at the intended rate. The meeting concluded with a general understanding that drone effectiveness in the field requires technical capability, human observation, and creativity. “We want to engage more of the community,” says Rivard. “We want people to explore new stuff.” •
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