AU Precision Ag

09/28/2026

09/22/2026

Beyond spraying, drones are increasingly used to apply dry materials, especially cover crops. Our latest blog shares some key considerations for seeding with drones to ensure uniform, effective applications! Alabama Extension Alabama Crops

The use of drones in agriculture to broadcast dry materials, especially seeding cover crops, has increased considerably in recent years. One major advantage of drone seeding is the ability to sprea…

09/14/2026

Recently our team had the opportunity to attend the Alabama Grazing Academy in Blount County and share information on precision ag technology options along with doing a spray drone demonstration. We are excited to expand precision agriculture knowledge into pasture and forage management.

09/08/2026

Tuesday Team Spotlight:
The Auburn University Precision Ag team members, Simer Virk and Laura Bautista, were at Mr. Thomas Kirkland's farm in South Alabama recently where they spread different cover crop mixes with a drone in a cotton field. Seeding with drones before harvest is rapidly gaining interest for early stand establishment and other benefits. Check out the pictures and videos from their testing.

08/31/2026

Introducing our last graduate student, just a little late, Ajay Sachin. He has been a part of our team since January 2026. He is from India, has a B.E. in Computer Science, and is now pursuing his M.S. in Biosystems Engineering at Auburn University. His research focuses on building a sensing and data acquisition system to monitor real-time application performance of spray drones!

08/28/2026

Few useful tips on spreading cover crop seed with drones that use hopper gate (disc) type metering system!! College of Agriculture at Auburn University Alabama Extension Alabama Crops

08/26/2026

We are excited to welcome two new members (both Ph.D. students) to our team, Joseph Sandro and Laura Bautista. Joseph brings years of experience as an Associate Scientist at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines and will work on different aspects of drone spraying. Laura is from Columbia and a recent M.S. graduate from Crop Science at NC State. She will be working on different zone management strategies for crop management. We look forward to their contributions and getting them involved in all other research and extension activities!! Biosystems Engineering at Auburn University

08/19/2026

A few weeks ago, our team had the opportunity to attend and present at the 2026 Gulf Coast Cattlemen’s Conference hosted by the Alabama Extension Beef and Forages team. We had a great time sharing information on precision ag options with livestock producers along with doing a gps guidance and drone spraying demonstration.

06/03/2026

Time to introduce another team member who joined us earlier this year. Sydney Hickman is from Fort Payne, Alabama, and is a senior in the Biosystems Engineering major at Auburn University. After graduation next spring, she plans to continue her studies by pursuing an MS degree in Biosystems Engineering with an emphasis in precision agriculture.

Sydney's favorite part about working in our program is getting hands-on experience and learning more about how technology is actually used in agriculture. She also enjoys being part of research that has an impact and being surrounded by people who are always willing to help, teach, and make the work environment enjoyable!!
Biosystems Engineering at Auburn University College of Agriculture at Auburn University