Case Study: Garlic Field Inventory Mapping – Brentwood, CA
To demonstrate the value that drone mapping can bring to agriculture, I recently flew over a garlic field near Brentwood, CA. While this wasn't a paid project, it served as a proof of concept for aerial inventory tracking using high-resolution orthomosaic imagery.
Project Overview
This garlic farm had bales of freshly harvested garlic staged throughout the field. My goal was to create an orthomosaic map stitched from drone images, then annotate the individual bales to visually count and track field inventory.
Even without a formal client request, I wanted to demonstrate how drone data can offer farmers and ag operators a fast, scalable way to monitor operations from above.
Flight & Mapping Details
Location: Brentwood, California
Drone: Matrice 4 Enterprise
Flight Height: 300 Feet
Image Overlap: 75% frontlap / 65% sidelap
Photos Captured: Map 1 (239 Images), Map 2 (160 Images)
Processing Software: Maps Made Easy
Flight Duration: ~20 minutes (x2)
Garlic Bale Count – Annotated Image
Below is a version of the map with every visible garlic bale annotated and counted. This could be printed or shared with field teams to quickly assess what’s staged and where.
Garlic Bale Inventory Map
All visible bales marked with blue icons from drone scan
Additional Aerial Images from the Flight
These images were captured during the mapping mission and are great for farm documentation or visual reporting.
Results & Takeaways
Delivered a stitched orthomosaic map
Created an annotated inventory view showing garlic bales
Captured marketing-grade aerials
Simulated the type of deliverable that ag clients can use for field logistics, yield reporting, or visual documentation
Interested in Mapping Your Farm or Operation?
If you’re a grower or landowner who could benefit from aerial visuals, 2D mapping, or inventory tracking, I’d love to talk.