Warren Community College continues to add key components to its drone program as it continues to be an educational leader around the country in one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

Warren has acquired new specialized equipment for a precision agriculture program that will begin in the fall of 2023, and that will directly impact local farmers in Northwest Jersey and elsewhere.

“Learning to operate these state-of-the-art machines will give farmers an edge in the technological aspects of agriculture,” said Adam Kyle, Precision Agriculture instructor for the college. “What the machines can do is simply incredible and will help farmers immensely in their operations.”

The course work will cover best practices in technology for the modern farmer including analyzing vegetation indices, collecting, and interpreting data and creating maps based on the data, allowing them to apply needed pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, or fertilizer using the latest unmanned aircraft systems and other new technology.

These systems allow the farmer to practice variable rate technology (VRT) to apply the collected information about their operations to direct the automated and variable application of seeds, fertilizers, and chemical applications to their fields at rates that match the needs of their cropland or even individual plants in the field.

The college acquired a Wingtra One Gen II, with a vertical takeoff and landing system that utilizes multi-spectral sensors such as the MicaSense RedEdge MX and MicaSense RedEdge-P which are used for monitoring and analyzing plant health. They can capture images across five visible and invisible spectral bands. The RedEdge-P also includes a sixth panchromatic sensor. The drone can also take extremely high-quality RGB images using a Sony RX1R II 42-megapixel camera.

Another aerial system acquired by Warren is a DJI Agras T30 with a 30-liter spray tank, a radar system for following terrain and the ability to avoid obstacles over a 360-degree circumference. The spray rate is 7.2 liters per minute.

Because the weight of the drone with battery and a full tank exceeds the FAA weight limit, students will learn about acquiring necessary waivers as well as the permitting process for applying chemical applications from low-flying aircraft. Students will also learn about mapping of areas for application and adjusting spray rates as well as using the seed/pellet spreader attachment.

Other new equipment students will learn about includes the XAG R150 ground robot which has a 100-liter tank and two sprayers on gyroscopic arms. The sprayer has a 12-meter spray width. Students will learn about manual and autonomous use.

Students will also learn to operate Earthscout soil sensors which are solar powered and measure soil moisture, temperature, salinity, air temperature and air humidity.

Another new innovation is a cow ear tag that monitors health, fertility, and nutrition. The cow manager system reads heat and blood flow in the ear and determines the activity of the cow. It helps with feed management.

For more information about the Unmanned Systems (drones) program at Warren, which is recognized by industry leaders as one of the best, and has been recognized by the FAA, visit www.warren.edu.