Using drones on farm to check sheep welfare

Summary

The Enhanced Producer Demonstration Site (EPDS) concept was developed in 2014 as a partnership between Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Agriculture Victoria. The partnership brings the benefits of integrating with Agriculture Victoria’s  BestWool/BestLamb and BetterBeef network of producers and groups receive assistance from Agriculture Victoria extension staff throughout the demonstrations including monitoring, evaluation, reporting and communication.

This project comprised of two parts. Firstly, the completion of a suite of eight (Phase 1) demonstrations that commenced in 2014, and secondly, a further seven (Phase 2) demonstrations, established through an expression of interest (EOI) process that commenced in 2018 / 19. 

Demonstrating and measuring on farm use of a drone to check sheep welfare at lambing and comparing the level of disturbance from a drone to normal practice. Identifying uses for drones at other times of the year, such as checking water troughs in summer.

Objectives

The overall objective was to assess the practical use of drones to remotely monitor sheep welfare during lambing and at different times in the year. This was to identify if the technology reduced time and labour costs usually associated with these tasks. In addition, the findings were to be extended amongst the group and to the broader public.

The on-farm demonstration successfully increased the farmers’ knowledge, skills and confidence in using the drone and allowed them to identify what jobs it could perform on-farm and its limitations. The trial demonstrated, however, that using a drone (any of the brands used in the trial) did not reduce the time and labour costs associated with checking ewe and lamb welfare during lambing due to the camera, battery and farmer limitations.

The trial achieved significant extension success with local, national and international media and farmer and industry interest, thus providing a platform to inform people about the usefulness of drones on-farm to check sheep welfare at lambing.

Key findings

More than 150 videos were recorded from the drones across three lambing periods (2019, 2020, 2021) and two summer periods (2019,2020). Video footage from the drones clearly showed when sheep were standing still or moving in response to the drone and at what height or speed this occurred.

Sheep generally ignored the drone was at a distance or when the drone was more than 30 metres overhead and travelling slowly or hovering. The sheep moved away from the drone when it was travelling at speed at any height, which the farmers believed was due to the sound of the drone. In the final year of the trial, farmers approached ewes and lambs with the drone at a lower height (8-15 meters) to see if they would ignore the drone. The sheep were observed to not move away from the drone if approached very slowly.

Unfortunately, the drone cameras used in this trial could not zoom; hence, the drone needed to be lowered until ground-level items could be clearly seen, which could trigger the sheep’s flight response. Newer drones now have cameras that can zoom, which may negate the need to lower the drone and disturb the sheep.

The demonstration also looked at whether drones could enable more frequent sheep welfare checks and offered any labour savings. Newer drones like the DJI drones can travel up to 5 km from the operator, although it is a Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) requirement that the operator must
always have ‘visual line-of-sight. Due to the large paddock size, some of the Boort lambing paddocks exceeded the visual line-of-sight requirement.

The economic outcomes of an investment in a drone to reduce labour and vehicle costs were assessed using partial discounted cash flow budgets over five years. The results showed that an investment in a drone was less profitable than an alternative investment earning 5% for labour-saving scenarios of 0, 5 and 15 minutes compared to using a car.

At the conclusion of the trial, none of the host or observer farmers adopted drones on-farm. Nevertheless, 100% of core producers improved their knowledge, skills and confidence in using the drone and understood what jobs it can and can not perform on-farm.

Despite the trial results, the project attracted significant local and national media, farmer and industry interest. Extension included two field days, six internal and external presentations, three radio interviews, two podcasts and numerous written articles. The project also attracted international interest, with one article being placed in the UK based Farmers Guardian magazine.

Follow this link to see the drone in action https://connection.vic.gov.au/farmers-add-drone-pilot-to-skill-set

Benefits to industry

The benefits and limitations of drones for checking sheep welfare at lambing were identified. The results from the trial indicate aspects to consider when looking to purchase a drone (i.e. camera – does it zoom?) and how best to fly it around sheep. This information and knowledge did not previously exist, perhaps why it created so much interest in the demonstration. Nevertheless, the drones in their current format may be of great value in hilly regions or in spots that are difficult to access in other ways or be used on farms with smaller paddocks.

Today, drone technology has progressed to a point where some of the limitations identified in the trial would not exist. The technological advances seen in drones today may have been the catalyst for farmers to adopt this technology. For example, drone cameras have zoom capability, enabling the farmer to fly the drone quickly at height and still have a good view of ground-level items. Furthermore, new drones can fly for up to 45 minutes compared to the trials 15 minutes.

Future research

Overall the demonstration found that the drones used in this trial can be used to undertake some tasks on-farm quickly and effectively, such as water trough checks. They can be used to check ewe and lamb welfare at lambing, but in this trial, the lack of zoom ability on the camera, limited battery life. Loss of visual line-of-sight in some of the large lambing paddocks also impacted their overall usefulness to perform this task.

With drone advancements in technology, future research should look to support new drone on-farm trials to determine if the newer technology can save farmers labour and time to check sheep welfare at lambing in the same environment or determine if it is better suited to farms with smaller or hilly
paddocks.