Drone training helps farmers land new skills in Alberta's Peace Region

Calving season is coming up and operators at the C Bar Ranch in northwestern Alberta hope to keep tabs on the expanding herd with an eye-in-the-sky equipped with thermal imaging.

Ethan Lentz, who works with the cow-calf operation at the ranch near Fairview, Alta., landed new skills to help manage crop and herd health this month at a drone training workshop in the Peace Region.

"You don't necessarily want to be driving around in the pasture all the time on an ATV and disturbing cattle while they're trying to calve," Lentz said in an interview with CBC News. 

Landview Drones, based in Camrose, Alta., held courses in Peace River and Grande Prairie to show farmers how to use drones and imaging technology to help with tasks like seeding, fertilizing and monitoring herd health. 

Lentz said having a bird's-eye view of the 200-head cattle operation will mean less wear and tear on his farm equipment. 

"You put the cattle out there in the wildest landscape and they'll convert that land into food for us. So being able to fly a drone through that kind of terrain is extremely beneficial." 

Drones have the capability to spread grass seed as well as monitor for weeds that are toxic to cattle.

A farmer would be breaking federal rules if they were to mitigate weeds using a drone. Although three products have been approved for mosquito control, it's against Health Canada regulations to spray agricultural pesticides using the new technology. 

"Additional drone-specific data (e.g., spray drift, efficacy, occupational exposure) is required to be able to determine that application of a product by drone does not pose an unacceptable risk to humans and the environment," Health Canada said in a statement to CBC News. 

Markus Weber, president of Landview Drones, provides training on the technology to the agriculture sector across western Canada. The Camrose, Alta., business owner said regulations to allow drones to apply agricultural pesticides are lagging behind the United States and other countries in Asia. 

"The main reason most of the farmers are interested in  [drones] is because they're fast and because they're affordable … and ultimately will let us apply less chemical than we are now." 

Jeremy Farmer, with Roddie Creek Ranch near Quesnel, B.C., travelled to Grande Prairie to learn how to seed with the help of a drone. He said the technology will enable him to add another crop, like legumes, to his corn fields. 

The practice is called cover cropping, which can help protect soil from wind and water erosion. 

"If you go in there with a machine, you'll knock all your corn down," Farmer said in an interview with CBC News.