Farmers across the Western Plains have recently learned a new way to help their farms - by taking to the skies using commercial drones.

Over the past few weeks, dozens of farmers from locations in the Coonamble, Bogan, Warrumgungle, Warren, Narromine and Gilgandra Local Government Areas have taken a course on using drones in agriculture organised by NSW Farmers.

NSW Farmers Regional Services Manager for the Central/Orana area Andrew Coughlan said the drone course has been running over the last few years in many regional NSW shires.

"We wanted to bring another tool for people to use on farms, especially during the drought, so they would have more time to do as much as they could (during a difficult time)," Mr Coughlan said.

"(Drone use on farms) is definitely a growing sector - more and more farmers are suddenly realising they can use sub-2kg drones for lots of different things on their farms."

According to Mr Coughlan, chief uses for drones on farms include increasing time efficiency and reducing human risk when doing property surveillance.

However, while he said more farmers were purchasing drones of their own for recreational or professional use, many of them might not be aware of their potential applications in the agriculture industry.

"A lot of people purchase drones and then never really use them, so having a course like this can give them ideas of how to actually use them on a day to day basis," he said.

"(It's also important to know) the do's and don'ts of drone use, including where you can and can't fly them and all the rules that come with that."

Mr Coughlan said the course normally sees an average of between 12-15 participants which had been the case for most of their locations in the past few weeks.

"We saw about 12 in Coonabarabran (last week) and about nine in Armatree the day before - when we were doing courses in Narromine and Nyngan there were probably also about 12 people who came," he said.

ABOVE: Around a dozen farmers from the Warrumbungle shire turned up to learn about drone application in agriculture on Wednesday 16 February. Image courtesy of Andrew Coughlan.

Mr Coughlan was surprised to find that Coonamble recorded the lowest turnout of only three local farmers turning up for the local course on Thursday 17 February.

One of these was Coonamble farmer Georgia Ditchfield, who works on her family property Brolga on the Tooraweenah Road. 

Ms Ditchfield said she already had a recreational interest in drones before hearing about the course, however felt she had now learned brand new ways to use it.

"I learned about some simple things I'd previously overlooked about what drones can be used for like seeing weeds in your crops, checking your pipes for leaks - so many different things you can do with a commercial drone people might have previously thought could only be done with a larger (purpose-built) one," Ms Ditchfield said.

"They were telling us that (drones) really give you a whole different view of your property. They said looking at your crops from the sky, you can identify issues up to 10 days before you can see them on the ground, so you can get on top of something wrong a lot earlier."

As a self-taught drone-pilot, Ms Ditchfield also appreciated the opportunity to see actual professionals fly the drone, learning some basic flying skills she had never known before.

Regardless of the attendance, Mr Coughlan said he was pleased that the three walked away feeling much more confident about using drones on their farms.

"We actually had one person come who'd never flown a drone and felt really comfortable with it at the end," he said.

"At the end of the day, whether it's 10 people or three, they all walked away with a bunch of new knowledge and confidence which is great."