New technology geared to map and deal with compromised farmland will come as a helping hand for cyclone-affected farmers.
Launched by Ravensdown, the HawkEye Response software tool images slips and washouts that can be cross-referenced against existing fenceline data to give farmers an up-to-date spatial view of weather damage on their property.
The tool will help farmers map and deal with slips that have affected farm effective areas, compromised paddocks, or taken out fences.
Users can also identify erosion-prone areas to prepare for future weather events.
The new tool combines pre and post Cyclone Gabrielle satellite data with fixed-wing aerial imagery and brings it into Ravensdown’s existing HawkEye software.
Ravensdown chief executive Garry Diack said the tool will help farmers identify immediate hazards and other areas of concern so they can direct resources to those areas.
“Many farmers in Hawke’s Bay and East Coast still can’t easily access parts of their farm, so it can be incredibly difficult for them to get a representative view of what needs to be fixed first.
“HawkEye Response enables farmers to get that full picture of their farm and prioritise remedial work according to the severity of damage and necessity for farm operations,” Diack said.
Farmers can identify each paddock’s new effective area and test new methods of farm and stock management virtually before committing to any changes.
The software’s analysis and editing abilities can also help with the set-up of exclusion zones so that slips can be retargeted for re-seeding and erosion-prone areas cordoned off from future re-seeding or stock grazing.
The software is designed to be an enduring part of the farmer toolkit and will be enhanced and improved as it develops.
“The aerial imagery gives farmers better ability to spot potential hazards for future weather events, such as badly placed culverts or infrastructure close to waterways.
“As the latest aerial mapping and satellite imagery comes through, HawkEye Response will be updated so farmers always have a close to real-time picture of their land from above and can respond to any issues.”
“Data from the software can also provide information to help cyclone-hit farmers with insurance claims,” Diack said.
HawkEye Response gives a view of pre and post Cyclone Gabrielle imagery, overlays farms’ fence lines, identifies new slips, calculates each slip’s area for each paddock and produces the new effective area with editing tools that enable measurement of distance or areas.
The software can ringfence areas to be evaluated for future land use and includes data that can be downloaded for use in spreadsheets.
Ravensdown is offering the tool to cyclone impacted customers free of charge.
All farmers, including non-Ravensdown customers who are not already mapped in HawkEye, can access the tool by getting in touch with their local Ravensdown representative.
