B.C. ranchers use drones to ensure their cows come home

The drone John Church saw that day was only a toy.

“I saw some kids flying a drone,” recalls the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) professor, “and I thought about cattle.”

Not an obvious leap, but for the B.C. cattle research chair, an understandable one.

Church’s revelation that drone technology could be used on B.C. ranches has led to a fascinating field of study, in addition to improving ranching returns, bovine health and pasture mapping.

Several B.C. ranches have started using Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAVs) to track cattle, helping to find the approximately 15 per cent of cows that don’t return home when the weather begins to turn cold.

“In the Prairies you can get in your truck and go look, but here in B.C. it’s much harder to find those (missing) cows,” Church explained.

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Thompson Rivers University undergraduate student researcher Chris Solecki using a drone.

“It has the ability to extend your vision,” said Church. “You see what the camera sees in real time.”

While drones have limitations — they have a 20 to 30 minute battery life and must remain within sight of the operator, according to Transport Canada regulations — they are much cheaper than fitting cows with GPS collars, which can cost up to $3,000 apiece, and show more detail than satellite images.

But Church is working on getting more than just pictures from his drones. He’s working with ranchers and researchers from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) to develop an antennae that can be mounted on a drone and receive signals from radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags.

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From left, Thompson Rivers University Dr. Garrett Whitworth, Dr. John Church and Dr. David Hill.

“We found that it was very difficult to transport the signal (from the RFID tags),” he said. “We thought we might have more success collecting the data with UAV.”

Braisher said the drones allow ranchers to better manage their herds and the public land so they both stay as healthy as possible.

“It’s in the public interest,” he said.

Church has also been working with TRU geographer Dr. David Hill to use drones to map B.C. range land and assess the vegetation and pasture. Compared to satellite images, drone cameras allow researchers to see much more detail, with each pixel showing about 2 centimetres of terrain.

It seems the sky is the limit for drone use on B.C. ranches.

Other research has taken Church to feedlots, where drones can be used to count cattle.

The professor has even used drones to herd cattle — “like a flying border collie” — but it’s not a use he favours. He’d rather the cattle were oblivious to the quiet little copters buzzing overhead.

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Thompson Rivers University professor Dr. John Church is using drones to help B.C. ranchers find lost cows on the range. Drones also have interesting uses for detecting sick animals, keeping track of pasture conditions and herding. 

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