Ensuring the conservation of water resources is one of the benefits of drone technology. By saving chemicals and water, drones can help minimise the risk of chemical run-off.
These were some of the key messages from Lyon Ag Drone Solutions director and chief remote pilot James Lyon at the recent AgQuip 2023 event in Gunnedah.
His site was one of the most keenly visited at the ag event, with plenty of primary producers eager to learn more about how the technology can help them on-farm.
Mr Lyon said there were two divisions of his business.
The first - LyonAg Drone Solutions - is a contracting business which is known as the go-to agricultural drone service for the Hunter, Mid North Coast, New England and North West regions of NSW. It provides a wide range of drone spraying, spreading, imaging and mapping solutions, catered to farmers' needs.
The second division is www.agdrone.au - an online site providing a sales, training and repairs business.
Mr Lyon said drone technology had moved forward significantly in recent years.
"What's available now is light years ahead of previous models," he said.
An example of this cutting-edge technology is the Agras T40 model, which was on show at AgQuip.
It is equipped with a Coaxial Twin Rotor Design, which enables it to carry a spraying payload of 40 kilograms and a spreading payload of 50kg.
"In broadacre, until now, drones were not really big enough to take on bigger jobs," Mr Lyon said
"Now they're big enough that you can run a couple of drones in a broad acre paddock, and cover between 10 to 16 hectares an hour per drone."
Uses of the drones include granular fertiliser spreading, as well as grassland reseeding. Installation of the spreading system can be completed in less than three minutes.
The drones feature high spreading uniformity and a large adjustable flow range, so they can provide efficient and uniform spreading of a variety of seed mixed at differing hectare rates.
Leading technology means farmers can also use their drone for spot spraying, saving water and chemicals.
"As long as there's a difference in colour and texture, we can detect pretty much any weed and the drone can go and spot spray, offering significant savings in chemicals and big environmental benefits," Mr Lyon said.
Mr Lyon said another big benefit of using drones was the ability to work in hard-to-reach, hilly terrain, which can be hard to travese with tractors.
Due to the demand for the technology, Mr Lyon is opening a dedicated agricultural drone dealership in Tamworth, NSW, in October, which will be the first of its kind in Australia.
Paula Thompson
Paula Thompson is ACM's National Machinery and Ag Tech writer. She has been an agricultural journalist for more than 20 years. Prior to her current role, she was a reporter with the Stock Journal, covering livestock markets and the grains industry.
Paula Thompson is ACM's National Machinery and Ag Tech writer. She has been an agricultural journalist for more than 20 years. Prior to her current role, she was a reporter with the Stock Journal, covering livestock markets and the grains industry.
