Drone provides new perspective on land condition, grazing patterns
Drones are giving NQ Dry Tropics’ field staff greater reach, more information and a new perspective on land condition and grazing patterns as they support graziers to repair degraded or eroding land.
Grazing Team Leader Josh Nicholls and Senior Grazing Field Officer Chris Poole (pictured above, on the left, with New Moon grazier Cam Heading) made a short presentation to the biennial Australian Rangeland Society conference in Longreach recently about how they applied the new technology.
Mr Poole said it was particularly useful for them as they prepared Land Management Action plans for graziers operating on rugged and inaccessible country.
“Our GRASS plans revolve around land condition and water quality, and drones help us to quite literally get a bird’s eye view of the problems we’re addressing,” he said.
The unique perspective drones offered paired with data from the Department of Environment and Science enabled them to do extensive desktop analysis of properties even before they arrived.
“These technologies capture more accurate data that informs decisions that achieve beneficial production and ecological outcomes.”
Contact Mr Poole for more information about the GRASS program by email at chris.poole@nqdrytropics.com.au.
The GRASS Program is funded through the Queensland Government Reef Water Quality Program and is delivered by the Department of Primary Industries and NQ Dry Tropics.
