Developing Protocols for Using a UAV to Monitor Herd Health

Abstract. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are gaining popularity with agriculture producers to perform daily activities such as monitoring livestock and plant health. With the expense of a UAV, producers require more than just pictures and video to be cost effective. This project sought to retrofit a device on a UAV to capture temperature data emitted from ear tags on cattle. The questions to be answered were: (1) can the UAV handle the weight of the recorder without negatively affecting flight time, (2) what is the flying height that could be used for data recording, and (3) does the UAV negatively affect cattle behavior when flying over? UAV performance while taking livestock data was recorded daily for two months. Results indicated the UAV could carry the data receiver and its power source with a negligible reduction in flight time. Battery life was reduced from an average of 19 minutes to 17.5 minutes. Also, data was accurately recorded at flying heights of 50-400 feet, with the optimal altitude determined to be 150 feet. At this altitude, a producer could potentially monitor cattle on 38 acres per hour. At all flying heights, the animals appeared unaffected by the UAV. The ability to remotely monitor livestock health adds to the advantages a producer can reap from utilizing UAV technology.