Soil mapping drone on its way to Australia to help potato growers

Drone  technology being used to map soil type and quality in Canadian potato crops will be available in Australia by the end of the year. The industry-based, not-for-profit body ViCSPA is working with A&L Canada Laboratories in Ontario to bring one of the machines to Australia and assist its members to access soil services. A&L Canada Laboratories president Greg Patterson told growers at the ViCSPA conference in Bendigo on Monday that testing that helped them understand the soil types in their paddocks more precisely was of more use to them than traditional soil analysis methods. “Site specific sampling or using something like yield monitors, satellite imagery or drones is the way you want to go,” he said. More