(WXYZ) — Farming is the backbone of America, providing fresh food from farms to your kitchen table.
However, many people don't realize the amount of new technology going into how farmers keep an eye on their crops, making sure they provide only the best.
Technology such as drones are helping farmers in many ways, from surveying crops to fertilizing them, and the benefits are huge.
At Westview Orchards and Winery and Washington Township, they're using drones to check their crops. Westview has been around for 210 years, and over those two centuries, farming equipment has also evolved.
"It's not just the livelihood. It is your life. I feel that I've been blessed to be able to do this," Owner and Operator Abby Jacobson said.
She's a sixth-generation farmer and she's out on the farm every single day and is responsible for 200 acres. While they don't have a drone of their own, they have brought in a company with drones for research to see the benefits.
"They're just starting to use the drone in an orchard setting using them with vegetables where it's a shorter crop. it's more dense than the trees. They're looking at as far as determining if a tree is diseased or if the trees have any insect damage or just how many apples are on a tree," Jacobson said.
The drones provide farmers with a lot of data and they can also help with cost saving on fuel and run-off amongst other environmental benefits.
Michael Reinke, a professor at Michigan State University, said the drones work to collect vital data.
"In the last four years, the technology has matured so these drones like these small ones like the ones coming off the palm of your hand. They're just not taking pictures now the software and everything behind the scenes has advanced so that decision making happening AI is making decisions so the growers are being given information that is actionable. Things that they can do," Reinke said.
Westview also has an Enviro Weather Station to help them with their crops as well. But, for Jacobson, the technology now in the farming world is also a blessing.
"We're all in a situation where we don't have enough staffing. That helps with our staffing because it takes time to come out here and we have to be out here all the time watching what's going on in the orchard," she said.
