Episode 013: Flyin' Around the Christmas Trees

Happy Holidays! Have you ever thought about where your Christmas tree comes from, all the work that went into that Christmas tree, or the technology that a farmer might use to produce that Christmas tree? While certain states such as Oregon and North Carolina produce many more Christmas trees than other U.S. states, Christmas Tree farms of all sizes exist in every state. Christmas tree farms are also prevalent internationally in Canada and Europe. Recently, University researchers, companies, and farmers have begun using UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to improve the efficiency of Christmas tree operations. In this episode of the FarmBits podcast, we will dive into the topic of UAV use in Christmas tree production. None of us on the FarmBits team are experts in Christmas tree production, but we had a lot of fun learning about Christmas tree production and were excited to hear how the technologies we use in row crop agriculture may be used to benefit farmers raising high value crops so different from what we're used to. We hope that you will enjoy learning about this unique industry, too! Some of these technologies may even eventually help Nebraskans to solve the Eastern Red Cedar problem more effectively. Have a wonderful holiday season! North Carolina State University - UAVs and Christmas Trees: https://go.unl.edu/uavschristmastrees Michigan State - Drones in Nursery Production: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the-future-of-using-drones-in-nursery-production New York Times Christmas Tree Article (2020): https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/16/business/quebec-christmas-tree-farm.html Pennsylvania State Extension Christmas Tree Article: https://extension.psu.edu/christmas-tree-production Nebraska Christmas Tree Growers Directory: https://nda.nebraska.gov/publications/promotion/christmas_trees/trees.html FarmBits Team Contact Info: E-Mail: farmbits@unl.edu Twitter: @NEDigitalAg Samantha's Twitter: @SamanthaTeten Jackson's Twitter: @jstansell87 Opinions expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast are solely their own, and do not reflect the views of Nebraska Extension or the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100270 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Title Art for YouTube Video: Fir Abies sp. trees with snow. Source: http://christmasstockimages.com/free/winter/slides/snow_pine_trees.htm Author: christmasstockimages.com