The LSU AgCenter and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture have received a nearly $800,000 grant to bring drone education to high school students. Louisiana 4-H STEM Coordinator Brian Gautreau says the training will provide students with knowledge about how drones and other technologies are used in agriculture.
“How we can use drones to produce vegetative index mapping or to spot applicate chemicals that are needed.”
Students are also prepared to take the Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 certification which will allow them to fly drones commercially. Gautreau says he’s working with farmers to get students hands-on field experience on agricultural sites.
“To produce products for the farmers. They might also be able to participate in bot applications with other drones.”
The grant will also fund the Agriculture Career Exploration with Drones camp which is a year-long course for 4-H students across the state. Students will receive the Trust Advance certification which is needed for recreational flight in the state. Gautreau says the course will introduce youth to careers using drones and teach them to program drones.
“They learn how to code the drones . And they use coding to do autonomous codes – autonomous flights for the drones and do all this in the context of exploring how drones are used in careers particularly with agriculture careers.”
Comments