How much are people charging for precision agriculture surveys

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I am just wanting to find out from those of you on here and flying commercially how much people are charging for aerial precision agriculture surveys using software such as pix4d and of course a NDVI camera .
 
Couple grand minimum. Software alone is an investment. I don't fly commercially, but I can't imagine how anyone could support any lifestyle charging anything less.... Especially if they went through all the BS of becoming "legal". $500 would be a retainer for lunch.
 
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Hello Members,
Can I start into Agriculture photography with a Phantom 4 and Inspire 1 V2 just as they are?
Thank you,
Terry Evans
 
Hello Members,
Can I start into Agriculture photography with a Phantom 4 and Inspire 1 V2 just as they are?
Thank you,
Terry Evans
Hey Terry, of course you can start Agri-photography, but as you stand it's a bit like entering a VW Beetle to a NASCAR race? Your kit from what I understand can currently take full spectrum image photographs/ video, and what farmer would not like a nice aerial picture of his farm? But that's about the limit of what you can offer right now, so you have a bit of work to do to get a better offering? Firstly, you need to get certificated to ask for payment of your services. You can pretend that it is a hobby, and ask the farmer for cash under the counter, but the minute you submit an invoice, you are deemed a pro? Then comes the "services" you can offer. The power of Agri-photography lies in these data services and not in simply flying a drone taking standard pics? You will need to upload your pics onto a cloud service such as Agribotix etc, which unpacks your photos into various useable formats, such as where crop stress exists, or temperature, water, weeds etc indicate some useful and actionable advice to the farmer. Bear in mind that these software platforms can be pretty expensive, and especially if you are offering real time analytics, uploading your massive data files on site via mobile broadband can be very costly too? Unfortunatly, you also need special cameras on your drone for almost all of these services, so your standard cameras are very limited in offering any level of analytics too. The bad news is that your Phantom 4 is not friendly to the commercial infra-red and NDVI spectrum cameras on offer (I think there is one camera manufacturer that will "add" a NDVI camera onto your P4, but then you lose your factory warranty, not a great option ?). The DJI pilots seem to have to move backwards to the Phantom 3 Advanced to get these expensive cameras on an aerial platform. It's a real dilemma since DJI have recently announced that they are not supporting anything under the Phantom 4 from now on? I am hoping that somebody comes up with an economically viable P4/P4P offering soon? Your Inspire is an an option, but the infra red cameras (such as the FLIR) are going to test your relationship with your bank manager. Hope this helps a bit, but perhaps the takeaway is that if you are going to offer agricultural services, expect to have to ramp up your kit, knowledge and data services quite a bit to enter the professional arena?
 
Hey Terry, of course you can start Agri-photography, but as you stand it's a bit like entering a VW Beetle to a NASCAR race? Your kit from what I understand can currently take full spectrum image photographs/ video, and what farmer would not like a nice aerial picture of his farm? But that's about the limit of what you can offer right now, so you have a bit of work to do to get a better offering? Firstly, you need to get certificated to ask for payment of your services. You can pretend that it is a hobby, and ask the farmer for cash under the counter, but the minute you submit an invoice, you are deemed a pro? Then comes the "services" you can offer. The power of Agri-photography lies in these data services and not in simply flying a drone taking standard pics? You will need to upload your pics onto a cloud service such as Agribotix etc, which unpacks your photos into various useable formats, such as where crop stress exists, or temperature, water, weeds etc indicate some useful and actionable advice to the farmer. Bear in mind that these software platforms can be pretty expensive, and especially if you are offering real time analytics, uploading your massive data files on site via mobile broadband can be very costly too? Unfortunatly, you also need special cameras on your drone for almost all of these services, so your standard cameras are very limited in offering any level of analytics too. The bad news is that your Phantom 4 is not friendly to the commercial infra-red and NDVI spectrum cameras on offer (I think there is one camera manufacturer that will "add" a NDVI camera onto your P4, but then you lose your factory warranty, not a great option ?). The DJI pilots seem to have to move backwards to the Phantom 3 Advanced to get these expensive cameras on an aerial platform. It's a real dilemma since DJI have recently announced that they are not supporting anything under the Phantom 4 from now on? I am hoping that somebody comes up with an economically viable P4/P4P offering soon? Your Inspire is an an option, but the infra red cameras (such as the FLIR) are going to test your relationship with your bank manager. Hope this helps a bit, but perhaps the takeaway is that if you are going to offer agricultural services, expect to have to ramp up your kit, knowledge and data services quite a bit to enter the professional arena?

Thank you so much. This is very helpful.
Terry
 
Hello Members,
Can I start into Agriculture photography with a Phantom 4 and Inspire 1 V2 just as they are?
Thank you,
Terry Evans
Depends on what service you are going to provide. I provide a basic crop damage and visual inspection service now. But this field is so much more. Currently I am working with an Ag group to provide just the raw data to them for processing. I expect that if we come to terms I will be spending about 50 grand on two drones with an assortment of sensors. An investment I will not make without a contract in hand. A far cry from where I started with a couple of P4s.
 
Wow, that would be quite an investment. Does your P4s serve you well for what you are doing?
Thanks,
Terry
 
I have a P4 and started a business about 6 months ago.. Now, finding out that I am needing 3 or 4 Inspire 1 drones and one with FLIR. After adding in the fact I will probably need probably 3 Terabit storage to save the video as I download each SD card and continue to fly, and a $1500 fast LapTop to work with, then purchase a LARGE storage space online to store days and days of video.. Its getting expensive!!! But the ends are justifying the means!!! All depends how much you are willing to gamble... I threw the kitchen sink, and rolled SNAKE EYES!!!
 
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Hey Terry, of course you can start Agri-photography, but as you stand it's a bit like entering a VW Beetle to a NASCAR race? Your kit from what I understand can currently take full spectrum image photographs/ video, and what farmer would not like a nice aerial picture of his farm? But that's about the limit of what you can offer right now, so you have a bit of work to do to get a better offering? Firstly, you need to get certificated to ask for payment of your services. You can pretend that it is a hobby, and ask the farmer for cash under the counter, but the minute you submit an invoice, you are deemed a pro? Then comes the "services" you can offer. The power of Agri-photography lies in these data services and not in simply flying a drone taking standard pics? You will need to upload your pics onto a cloud service such as Agribotix etc, which unpacks your photos into various useable formats, such as where crop stress exists, or temperature, water, weeds etc indicate some useful and actionable advice to the farmer. Bear in mind that these software platforms can be pretty expensive, and especially if you are offering real time analytics, uploading your massive data files on site via mobile broadband can be very costly too? Unfortunatly, you also need special cameras on your drone for almost all of these services, so your standard cameras are very limited in offering any level of analytics too. The bad news is that your Phantom 4 is not friendly to the commercial infra-red and NDVI spectrum cameras on offer (I think there is one camera manufacturer that will "add" a NDVI camera onto your P4, but then you lose your factory warranty, not a great option ?). The DJI pilots seem to have to move backwards to the Phantom 3 Advanced to get these expensive cameras on an aerial platform. It's a real dilemma since DJI have recently announced that they are not supporting anything under the Phantom 4 from now on? I am hoping that somebody comes up with an economically viable P4/P4P offering soon? Your Inspire is an an option, but the infra red cameras (such as the FLIR) are going to test your relationship with your bank manager. Hope this helps a bit, but perhaps the takeaway is that if you are going to offer agricultural services, expect to have to ramp up your kit, knowledge and data services quite a bit to enter the professional arena?
Aliveman, I just noticed your post and noted your statement dated Jan 30, 2017 "It's a real dilemma since DJI have recently announced that they are not supporting anything under the Phantom 4 from now on"
My P3S is still under warranty so how is it that DJI isn't supporting anything under the P4???????
 
Aliveman, I just noticed your post and noted your statement dated Jan 30, 2017 "It's a real dilemma since DJI have recently announced that they are not supporting anything under the Phantom 4 from now on"
My P3S is still under warranty so how is it that DJI isn't supporting anything under the P4???????
They announced that they have cut production on them. Support remains but we cant know for how long since DJI seems to be very inconsistent with there product updates. In my opinion the P3 is still a great drone but who knows how long they will support them now that production on the p3 series and p4 standard is stopped.
 
I have a P4 and started a business about 6 months ago.. Now, finding out that I am needing 3 or 4 Inspire 1 drones and one with FLIR. After adding in the fact I will probably need probably 3 Terabit storage to save the video as I download each SD card and continue to fly, and a $1500 fast LapTop to work with, then purchase a LARGE storage space online to store days and days of video.. Its getting expensive!!! But the ends are justifying the means!!! All depends how much you are willing to gamble... I threw the kitchen sink, and rolled SNAKE EYES!!!

Hi @Southern Style -- your post was super helpful and insightful for me. I don't really know much about the agriculture space, but a few things you said surprised me based on what I've heard from others. I was wondering if you could elaborate:

1) "3 Terabit storage to save the video" - I was told that most agriculture media was still images that were then stitched together. What is the video used for?
2) "purchase a LARGE storage space online" - What do you need to store the video for? Don't you end up transferring it all to the client, or do you have retention needs?
3) Finally, I noticed you only use one with FLIR. Are your other drones just capturing regular video? What do your clients do with it?

Thank you so much for the insight. Cheers.
 
No one has any large data usage yet. Its for aesthetics and to give clients a cool live shot. There is no practical application beyond "cool", however that doesn't mean that video isn't a huge deal. Being able to see moving imagery is always more exciting and how excited you can get your customer plays a huge role on closing deals.

I cant speak for Southern Style but most people use RGB imagery and try to gain some NDVI info from it. Its quick and dirty. I feel bad for this guy because I can bet with my one P4 pro with a Sentera single NDVI+ I am getting better data than he is with 4 inspires. The inspire is a cool drone but is features are not being used to the full potential when imaging fields. The inspire is great for 360 view because of the rotating gimbal but when you are flying pointing down it is a waist of money and I never was impressed with the flight time.

The FLIR sensors are awesome! Don't get me wrong, but they aren't tailored made for crop health like Sentera's NDVI+.
 
No one has any large data usage yet. Its for aesthetics and to give clients a cool live shot. There is no practical application beyond "cool", however that doesn't mean that video isn't a huge deal. Being able to see moving imagery is always more exciting and how excited you can get your customer plays a huge role on closing deals.

I cant speak for Southern Style but most people use RGB imagery and try to gain some NDVI info from it. Its quick and dirty. I feel bad for this guy because I can bet with my one P4 pro with a Sentera single NDVI+ I am getting better data than he is with 4 inspires. The inspire is a cool drone but is features are not being used to the full potential when imaging fields. The inspire is great for 360 view because of the rotating gimbal but when you are flying pointing down it is a waist of money and I never was impressed with the flight time.

The FLIR sensors are awesome! Don't get me wrong, but they aren't tailored made for crop health like Sentera's NDVI+.

Hi guys, forgive me for breaking in, I am fairly new to the drone world and just became an FAA USAS pilot. I am very interested in the agricultural aspects of a business as well. Long story short and more to the point, Peterthedroneguy you mentioned a P4 pro with a Sentera single NDVI+. Did Sentera fit this up for you or did you put this together? Does you P4P have both cameras on board? Thanks for all the great insights. I have been following the phantompilots forum for quite some time.
 
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I don't know if they offer the option to DIY anymore. I had them do it and it works great. The normal DJI gimbal is still there and functions as if the NDVI+ sensor isn't even on the drone.
 
Looking into Sentera for a fast, easy, accurate, and cheep way to get into the Ag mapping field.
In my opinion Sentera is the way to go. We employed a Sentera NDVI sensor on a P4P this past growing season with excellent results. We are now adding an M210 to our tool box... again, using Sentera sensors and software.
Here's the bonus... Buy a sensor from Sentera and get a year of Agvault software for free. Also, it looks as if stitching will be available for free through AgVault for the 2018 growing season!
I recommend buying the drone and sensor(s) in one package from Sentera. It came to us set up and ready to fly out of the box. Big bonus!
BTW Part 107 Certified.
 
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We charge between $500-$800 per field we process in NDVI for our clients. We have seen a couple instances where our clients have saved over $11000 in inputs based on the data we provided them for one field. 13.75x ROI is not a bad deal! Obviously it's not always that sort of value but usually, if the client decides to DO SOMETHING with the imagery, the decision turns out to end up saving them at least what they put into it, usually between 5-8x ROI. Multiply that by many fields and you can get some value! But we often find that the data doesn't go any further with the client. It helps when you partner with an agronomy company. We are purely a data solutions company so we have to bring in independent agronomists to help provide that additional guidance - usually they combine our data with a few soil samples to provide their "prescription" - though I like to refer to it as a prognostication. There are always those pesky RAIN DOWNPOURS, or conversely, ENDLESS DROUGHTS which end up wreaking havoc on some applications... You can't always be right, but a consistently positive trending performance is pretty convincing.
 
I am just wanting to find out from those of you on here and flying commercially how much people are charging for aerial precision agriculture surveys using software such as pix4d and of course a NDVI camera .

We fly P4P aircraft for crop health surveys in British Columbia, generally for high value crops such as blueberries. Pricing is based on $$/Acre. Winter Bare surveys are around $3/Ac (RGB images) and the full Sentera dataset is $5/Ac. The difference accounts for the investments in the sensors, software and as another poster mentioned, terabytes of SSD storage. We fly a field approximately every 10 days during the growing season, generating around 10 images per acre or 5Gb per property. The storage adds up fast and the data needs to be archived properly.

Most growers are very traditional in their farming methods and educating them about the science and benefits is a tough job. The few who see the light do so only after they see useful data from their own properties. So that can mean a "freebie" flight, report and conversation, all of which is time and added cost to recover.

So with an investment in excess of $50k, you do the math.
 
Hi everybody,
I'm looking to start a NDVI mapping business in Argentina and i'm struggling to get some data since there's none here.
I first started looking at Sentera but when i found out that i could only cover 45 acres with my Mavic or 55 with a Phantom i started looking some other possibilities. The average farm is ranging from 700 to 1200 acres so i started looking for a fix wing. Even though Sentera's looks and sounds awesome it is kind on the expensive side if you compare it to a Parrot Disco Ag with a Sequoia sensor.
Do any of you have any experience with that set up?
Has anybody tried the new Pix4Dfields? they advertise that it works at "fields edge", kind of a Sentera's copy but i still don't know if it's as good.
I appreciate all of you for taking the time to read this.
 
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