Windfall, maybe an airplane?

[jodywy]

The old ranch had to windfalls, small oil booms. We updated machinery. Wasn't all new, just newer and better. If This place ever gets a windfall. Thinking airplane, helicopter........ To spray for annual grasses, you know the ones Japanese brome Cheat grass, and Bulbous bluegrass, haven't seen the really bad ones Medusahead and Ventenata, and hope to never see them. Anybody that got excited about an Airplane I too old and too blind....

 

[Nicky]

It would be handy for sure. Be glad you don't have medusahead and ventanata, they are daunting to say the least. We like bulbous bluegrass, it is our best early feed.

 

[webfoot]

I had windfalls but the bears ate them all.

I like the bulbous too although I didn't notice any this spring. I wonder how the fire might have affected it.

 

[Older Whiskey]

Any of y'all have Crested wheatgrass? I never knew it grew so tall until years ago when the unirrigated pasture behind me was subdivided and a narrow strip was left because of a right of way. In the past, the cows and a couple of burros kept it low, but since their removal, it gets tall, especially on rainy years.

Crested Wheatgrass is great until it reaches a certain stage, then cows start complaining, and burros become asses about it.

 

[webfoot]

Any of y'all have Crested wheatgrass? I never knew it grew so tall until years ago when the unirrigated pasture behind me was subdivided and a narrow strip was left because of a right of way. In the past, the cows and a couple of burros kept it low, but since their removal, it gets tall, especially on rainy years.

Crested Wheatgrass is great until it reaches a certain stage, then cows start complaining, and burros become asses about it.

I have a fair amount of Crested. It probably came back the best after the fire. The grass seed I spread after the fire....... I should have saved my money.

 

[jodywy]

got crested, pubescent, and intermediate

 

[Nicky]

got crested, pubescent, and intermediate

So do we. The new crested varieties seem more palatable than the old ones

 

[Silver]

The old ranch had to windfalls, small oil booms. We updated machinery. Wasn't all new, just newer and better. If This place ever gets a windfall. Thinking airplane, helicopter........ To spray for annual grasses, you know the ones Japanese brome Cheat grass, and Bulbous bluegrass, haven't seen the really bad ones Medusahead and Ventenata, and hope to never see them. Anybody that got excited about an Airplane I too old and too blind....

With a drone you get to keep your feet on the ground have the added advantage of being able to spot spray effectively

 

[Nicky]

With a drone you get to keep your feet on the ground have the added advantage of being able to spot spray effectively

They are still very spendy

 

[Silver]

They are still very spendy

Well, yes. But you can buy a drone for the price of two hydraulic drive assemblies on a self propelled sprayer. Or about a third the price of a new King Ranch one ton.

 

[jodywy]

They are still very spendy

I hire out all the flying :)

 

[Nicky]

Well, yes. But you can buy a drone for the price of two hydraulic drive assemblies on a self propelled sprayer. Or about a third the price of a new King Ranch one ton.

I thought they were alot more than that

 

[webfoot]

Well, yes. But you can buy a drone for the price of two hydraulic drive assemblies on a self propelled sprayer. Or about a third the price of a new King Ranch one ton.

No more spraying than I do it a lot cheap to hire it done.

 

[jodywy]

No more spraying than I do it a lot cheap to hire it done.

$50/ acre with a helicopter to get rid of annual grass weeds is lot cheaper then buying more land

 

[webfoot]

$50/ acre with a helicopter to get rid of annual grass weeds is lot cheaper then buying more land

True, but at $50 an acre it takes a lot of acres to cover the price of buying a drone. And you have to learn how to fly the drone before flying into the side of a mountain or into a tree.

 

[jodywy]

True, but at $50 an acre it takes a lot of acres to cover the price of buying a drone. And you have to learn how to fly the drone before flying into the side of a mountain or into a tree.

I let somebody else fly to do the spraying on a few thousand acres.

 

[Silver]

True, but at $50 an acre it takes a lot of acres to cover the price of buying a drone. And you have to learn how to fly the drone before flying into the side of a mountain or into a tree.

Well, if 500 acres is a lot then I would say buying a drone might not be a good idea.
You don’t need to learn how to fly a drone. You only need to learn to mark a boundary. The drone doesn’t need or want your help to get the flying part done.

 

[Puzzled]

Well, if 500 acres is a lot then I would say buying a drone might not be a good idea.
You don’t need to learn how to fly a drone. You only need to learn to mark a boundary. The drone doesn’t need or want your help to get the flying part done.

So, can you enlarge on how the drones work?
How fast do they move compared to a plane or copter? Is there any less or more risk of drift compared to a plane or copter ?

 

[Silver]

So, can you enlarge on how the drones work?
How fast do they move compared to a plane or copter? Is there any less or more risk of drift compared to a plane or copter ?

Well, I can only speak to the drone I have, as it’s the only one I’m familiar with. It holds 13.5 gallons. It sprays at 31mph at a width of 28 feet at a height of 10 feet. Droplet size is up to your discretion and is easily set from the app. Larger droplets equals less drift. As with any method of spraying you’ll want to have an idea as to the recommended droplet size for what you are doing. Based on the height, droplet size and speed of application I can’t see how drift would be as much as an airplane or helicopter.
My drone (all drones as far as I know) use an app. The app will use satellite imagery. Setting field boundary can be as easy as setting points and connecting dots on the screen. Or you can take your controller around the field and push a button to make the dots that the app will connect for you to form the boundary. Spraying the field is a matter of sliding a button on the screen to send the drone to work. It figures out the best pattern and the most efficient way to go about it. When it is low on product it automatically returns to where it came from at which point you reload product and switch batteries.
This fall was my first go at it, and it was surprisingly easy to get the hang of. Took me less time to figure out than my little old self propelled Spra-Coup

 

[webfoot]

They used one to spray the willows along one of irrigation ditches. I have no idea how they controlled it. And there is nothing straight about this ditch. But their accuracy sure wasn't good