The Blue Mountain Community College Precision Agriculture Program has received $30,000 from the Roundhouse Foundation to support the program’s “Training Tomorrow’s Precision Agriculture Technicians” project.
Oregon State University’s Columbia Basin Agriculture Research Center (CBARC) has also contributed $1,000 towards the project.
The project is a collaboration with CBARC to collect multispectral data to support their researchers, providing BMCC students real-world, hands-on experience collecting data and giving students access to the latest in drone and multispectral technology.
“This experience will help students develop marketable skills with drones, remote sensing, data analysis, and agronomy,” said BMCC Precision Agriculture Instructor Andrew Leggett. “Research collected can provide science-based recommendations to farmers to help them achieve long term economic success and environmental sustainability.”
The grant will allow the Precision Agriculture program to purchase a DJI M350 RTK drone and a MicaSense RedEdge-P Dual multispectral sensor by AgEagle. This sensor collects the same data as the Landsat 8 and Sentien-2 satellite brands at a higher resolution.
To learn more about the BMCC Precision Agriculture Program, go to the BMCC website.
The Roundhouse Foundation is a private family foundation based in Sisters that supports creative solutions to the unique challenges associated with rural culture and the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. For more information call 541-904-0700 or visit its website.
