High-flyer coming to Tasmania to speak about innovative drone tech

A Queensland cattle farmer who has developed drones to assist in livestock mustering is heading to Tasmania to explain how the technology can lead to more cost-efficient and safer outcomes.

SkyKelpie founder Luke Chaplin will be speaking at the inaugural FarmX conference on August 21 at Woolmers Estate at Longford.

Since launching the company in 2022, Mr Chaplin estimates that more than 400,000 heads of livestock have been moved using the technology.

The SkyKelpie drones come installed with thermal sensors, satellite maps, ultra-zoom cameras and speakers.

“In terms of the drone actually moving livestock, it's just another form of pressure,” Mr Chaplin said.

“It’s like someone on a motorbike, helicopter or horse and it’s about how we use that form of pressure in the most effective way.

“We put that pressure on the livestock and when we get a good outcome, we release that pressure and give them a reward.”

Mr Chaplin first started using drones in 2017 on his family’s farm at Cloncurry.

“I initially used them to take photos and other stuff, but the drones were starting to get better and I started playing around with them at home to solve a few on-farm problems,” he said.

“We’d use helicopters to muster livestock, but the costs were going up for them.

“I was also quite interested to see if this technology could match up with current and traditional methods.”

After tinkering with and developing SkyMuster, Mr Chaplin trialled the technology in 2022 in conjunction with the Queensland Government and Meat and Livestock Australia.

The company is also about to release an online course to complement the drone technology.

“It will mainly be about stockmanship and how to use a drone as a legitimate form of pressure to locate and muster livestock,” Mr Chaplain said.

“We also have a training simulator called SkySim that we are about to release alongside that online course with the aim of making people unconsciously competent at flying a drone and really advancing skills in a risk-free environment.”

Other plans for SkyKelpie include introducing tech support and a customer portal for users.

Mr Chaplin was excited to speak at FarmX, saying he was expecting to be communicating with a forward-thinking group of attendees at the conference.

“I want to open up their imagination to not just drone technology, but the technology in general that is coming through.

“But I know that not all technology is suited to every operation, so it’s very case by case and producers should be looking at whether it helps reduce their cost of production or makes their operations safer.

“I think primary producers are quite good at adopting technology.”

Mr Chaplin said he also wanted to convey the benefits of collaboration for farmers who attend the event.

“It’s about not looking over the fence and seeing competition, but looking at it as collaboration.

“Even in the business and start-up space, which is where I am, I get together with other drone companies in the industry and agriculture and we talk about how we can work together to help consumers.”

Mr Chaplin will be speaking at FarmX from 12.40pm on August 21.