Project uses drone to monitor health of cattle

By TRU Newsroom

“When winter arrives, about 85 per cent of the cattle return, but the rancher must track down the remainder, which can be a time consuming and challenging task.”

— Dr. John Church, BCIC Chair in Cattle Industry Sustainability

Dr. John Church isn’t sure what an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will tell him about the health of cattle in British Columbia’s rangeland, but the B.C. Regional Innovation Chair in Cattle Industry Sustainability is eager to find out.

Church has put forward a Request for Proposals for the drone through the B.C. Bid system. The unit will cost between $15,000 and $30,000 and has been funded through the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C.’s Growing Forward initiative. He expects to begin using the drone by November.

The first research item on the agenda is to gauge cattle responses to the UAV. Then, he hopes to use infrared cameras to help track the animals.

“Ninety per cent of the ranching industry uses Crown range. We release our cattle into these areas and let them go.”

“When winter arrives, about 85 per cent of the cattle return, but the rancher must track down the remainder, which can be a time consuming and challenging task.”

The same infrared cameras could also be helpful in feedlot settings, increasing the rancher’s ability to detect sick or diseased animals.

The second stage of the research involves collaboration with Glen Kathler, the Applied Research Chair for the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Applications Development Lab at SAIT Polytechnic.