Animals Can Cause $2 Billion In Crop Damage In The State

Drones are being used in an experiment being conducted by the Choctaw Nation in central Oklahoma to combat crop damage caused by wild pigs in the state.

USA Today reports that wild pigs can cause about $2 billion in crop damage each year. As part of the FAA's Drone Pilot Program, the aircraft are being used to drop corn into traps used to capture the animals. The FAA has authorized flights at night and beyond visual line of sight to carry out the experiment.

“We see drones as an extension of smart farming technology. Drones provide that next step toward robotics and automation,” said Mike Komp, an agricultural drone expert at the Noble Research Institute in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Noble’s scientists advise the Choctaw Nation drone program.

Intel is also working with the Choctaw Nation to evaluate a new system that could teach drones developed by different companies to communicate and avoid collisions.

DJI is partnering with the Choctaw Nation on the wild pig trapping effort.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report