HawkEye Response, a software tool to help farmers map and deal with slips that have impacted 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.
Once in HawkEye, the images of slips and washouts are cross-referenced against existing fence line data to give farmers an up-to-date spatial view of weather damage on their property.
Ravensdown chief executive Garry Diack says 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.
Farmers can identify each paddock’s new effective area and test 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.
Diack says 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. 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,” Diack says.
Ravensdown is offering the tool to cyclone-impacted customers free of charge. However, all farmers, including non-Ravensdown customers who are not already mapped in HawkEye can access this tool by getting in touch with their local Ravensdown representative.
