What can NDVI drones do for my business?
Norm Lamothe (Cavan, Ontario) and Markus Weber (Edmonton, Alberta) have both been involved with AgEagle operations since the first units were brought to Canada. Norm has been one of the most prolific fliers, logging many acres of aerial imagery for his clients. Markus has been establishing AgEagle's sales network across the country.
They contributed to recent blog posts about the opportunities and realities of using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) imagery for commercial agriculture. While interviewed separately, they have both come to the same conclusions: While NDVI imagery highlights crop variability, it is important that it be complemented by "boots on the ground".
Norm Lamothe (Deveron UAS):
What is the value of NDVI?
Where we see value is variability. There is always variability in all fields. NDVI highlights this variability and makes it easier for your eyes to see. When you can easily see variability, you can make quicker decisions.
Markus Weber (AgEagle Canada):
What would you tell people creating new agriculture drone businesses? I would tell them they need to ground-truth their drone imagery, which should be part of the service. If you can’t ground-truth, then provide the imagery to someone who knows how to — an agronomist, unless the farm has the time to do that themselves. Aerial NDVI imagery is a great tool for an agronomist’s toolbox, because it highlights variability not visible from the ground or with the naked eye. But NDVI just shows where a problem is. You still need to get out in the field, touch some plants, and get into the soil.
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