Dougcjohn,
I have both a P3P with RGB and a Agribotix NIR P3A to work with. I had intended on flyin it this last weekend, but it was overcast and rainy. I appreciate you r input. The hardest part for me is going to show that these can give farmers an ROI and are not just a toy. That is the primary reason I am working with a few Farmers and Agronomists to build a case study and prove there is a value.
I'd agree, the larger Farm operations around my area could certainly apply the crop data obtained in NDVI... some have, and take the GPS data to the sprayers & nitrogen knifes to control where & volume applied in Spring... others need a few years to collect & view bench marks for chemical, pest control & weeds. I also see the moisture Dx of NDVI to assist in water tiling on high & low sections.
We started incorporating GPS on planters & harvest 12-15 yrs ago, but it was crude compared to what aerial data can provide. Took hours of Winter setup time to install & configure both the hardware and software on computers.
Then again, similar to no-till, some Farmers saw the immediate benefit and converted the operation while others continue to work & turn the soil every year because they mainly saw the initial cost to switch to no-till as prohibitive. It's how one sees the cost... present or future.
In the end, I don't think it's an issue to "sell" or "convince"... the benefit is obvious regardless if using common rational thought or more empirical data. As you point out, it's the cost and the ROI for the project and the associated projects to complete the whole project.
That's our main obstacle to overcome with budget minded Farmers & Ranchers who until recent years delt with what they could literally "see & touch" and old fashion common sense. Look what the University Ag Grad's delt with in the 80-90's... trying to convince a change to the "tried & true" based on new education. It's that all over again with another form of technology.
I'd be interested to hear your progress & challenges as your move forward.