The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing June 23 to educate members about innovations in agricultural imagery and technology. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-OK, served as acting chairman of the committee for the hearing. It was the second hearing in a series examining big data and its role in agriculture. The subcommittee heard from a variety of stakeholders about using satellites, manned airplanes and unmanned aerial systems (drones) as a way to collect imagery that farmers can leverage to make better business and conservation decisions for their farms. As technology continues to evolve, the witnesses stressed the importance of maintaining the privacy of individual farmers and ranchers, and ensuring their data is protected. “Imagery was one of the first forms of Big Data in agriculture, and it serves as the foundation for a host of other innovations,” Lucas said in his opening statement. “Whether it’s satellites, airplanes or drones, each of these tools has a role to play and farmers can choose the product that best fits their needs. With that imagery, farmers are able to see maps of their fields and make better decisions about how they manage their farm, including decisions about fertilizing more efficiently, addressing pests and disease, and timeliness of planting and harvest. “Imagery is the foundation for precision agriculture, and the innovations we heard about today are building blocks for more improvements to come.” Rep. Gwen Graham, D-FL, filling in for subcommittee Ranking Member Tim Walz, D-MN, who was on funeral leave, said in her opening statement: “It is a tough time to be a farmer in America. The farm economy is struggling and farmers are being forced to do more with less. As members of this committee, our role is to protect our existing agricultural infrastructure while exploring new ways to make it work more effectively and efficiently. “Aerial imaging is at the forefront of innovation in agriculture. This technology has already proven to be an important tool for agriculture agencies and it has great potential to make farming operations more streamlined and efficient. I look forward to hearing today how we can safely harness this technology to benefit individual farmers and farm programs like crop insurance and others. “Thank you to our panel of witnesses for being here today. They represent the different sectors of the aerial data collection industry and their testimony will shed light on the realm of applications for this technology in agriculture. I look forward to hearing from each of you.” Among the witnesses at the hearing were UAS service providers from across the country. One was Robert Blair, a Kendrick, Idaho, farmer and vice president for agriculture at Measure, a drone as a service company. Blair, who has been a proponent of the use of UAVs on his own farm, told the subcommittee he has not used a drone on his farm since June 18, 2014, when the FAA defined what constituted as commercial versus hobby UAV operations. “Instead, I have complied with the rules and had certified pilots operating under FAA Section 333 exemptions to gather data over my farm,” Blair said. “An example of the distinction made between commercial and hobby use is that while I can fly a UAV over my property and take all of the pictures and video I want, the moment I use that information to make management decisions, I am a commercial UAV operator.” Over the years, Blair said he has been asked many times, “Who will be flying UAVs: the farmer or a service provider?” He said with his experience in the industry, he sees a future of service providers flying for agriculture. “Farmers, ranchers, crop advisors and agronomists have enough on their plate, let alone becoming an aviation expert, remote sensing expert, software expert and/or geographic information systems expert. Instead, UAV service providers like Measure can collect the data to make the jobs of those with boots on the ground easier. A crop advisor friend stated, ‘I am currently managing 20,000 acres and with your service I could double the acres along with having better information for the farmer.’” Blair reminded the subcommittee new FAA rules were announced June 21 that hold provisions beneficial for agriculture, such as obtaining a remote pilot certificate instead of needing a full pilot’s license and not being required to have a visual observer. Both of these provisions will save costs making it less expensive to conduct business. “However, I believe UAV service providers like Measure will still be needed due to the time required for flying, processing imagery and trying to make the imagery into actionable information. Operating safely is a priority of Measure and we will use highly trained and certified pilots to carry out flights,” Blair said. While the new rules are a major milestone for the UAV industry, Blair said there is still work that needs to be done. “Beyond line of sight operation will be needed to cover the millions of agriculture acres in the United States in a timely manner. Rules to fly at night with thermal cameras can collect data with higher accuracy due to the cooler evening temperatures. Also, further clarification is needed to conduct aerial application of pesticides with UAVs,” Blair said. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, R-TX, added at the end of the hearing: “American farmers and ranchers are utilizing technology to produce more and better food and fiber products with fewer inputs than ever before. While the imagery and mapping technology we discussed today paves the way for additional increases in farm productivity and efficiency, it continues to be the foundation on which we administer our farm and conservation programs. “I appreciate today’s panel of witnesses for sharing their expertise on this important topic, and I look forward to continuing to explore the role of Big Data in agriculture.” Source - http://www.hpj.com