Experience the latest in agricultural spraying and spreading drones at Henty

Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the latest agricultural drones in a large display at the Henty Machinery Field Days thanks to AKRON Australia and DJI Agriculture. 

Based at Gerogery, AKRON Australia is the leading provider of agricultural drones in Australia and specialises in high quality DJI branded drones specifically designed for spraying and spreading in the agricultural sector.

“Our drones are reliable, efficient and provide an innovative solution for farmers across the country. At AKRON Australia we are committed to providing exceptional customer service and support to ensure our customers get the most out of their investment,” AKRON Australia general manager Jimmy O’Neill said

“By harnessing the power of drones, farmers can improve crop management, reduce resource waste and optimise agricultural processes. We see a world where precision agriculture is the norm and drones are an indispensable part of the farming landscape.”

AKRON Australia has been exhibiting for many years at the field days and this year has come on board as a major sponsor. The fully accredited drone demonstration cage will be located inside the western entrance. 

“Drones have fully evolved to become a farm tool rather than a toy for stock and water monitoring, feral animal identification, bird scaring, weed spraying and fertiliser application with their increased payload carrying capacity," Mr O'Neill said. 

“We are excited to be on board as a major sponsor - it is great to see the field days growing every year and we wanted to be a part of it.”

Field day visitors will be able to see the full agricultural range including the DJI Agras T50, T40 and T25, and the mapping and thermal imaging DJI Mavic 3’s.

Mr O’Neill said the fuel efficient and fast charging Agras T50 was released in April 2024 and offered surveying, spraying and spreading in the one package plus double peace of mind with binocular vision and dual radar. 

The Agras T50 has a powerful coaxial twin-rotor propulsion system and split-type torque resistant structure for next level stability when carrying 40kg spraying and 50kg spreading payloads. 

T50 leverages a dual atomising spraying system, front and rear phases array radars and a binocular vision system allowing a peak spreading rate of 1500kg per hour and a flow rate of 108kg/minute, or spray rate of 24 litres a minute. 

The DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral is ideal for orchard mapping, variable rate applications, intelligent field scouting, environmental monitoring and natural resources surveying. 

It combines an RGB camera with a multispectral camera to scan and analyse crop growth with total clarity. It has a newly upgraded imaging system with one 20MP RGB camera and four 5MP multispectral cameras (green, red, red edge and near infrared) enabling applications such as high precision aerial surveying, crop growth monitoring and natural resource surveys. 

The built-in sunlight sensor captures solar irradiance and records it in an image file, allowing for light compensation of image data during 2D reconstruction. This allows more accurate NVDI results and improved accuracy and consistency of data acquired over time. 

The camera and RTK module sync in microseconds to accurately capture the location of each camera’s imaging centre. This enables Mavic 3M to do high precision aerial surveying without using ground control points. 

The aircraft features multiple wide FOV vision sensors that accurately detect obstacles in all directions for omnidirectional obstacle avoidance. The terrain-follow aerial surveying can be easily performed in steep slope landscapes. 

“The imagery from the Mavic 3 can transfer data be to the T50 or T40 allowing them to carry out spot spraying or variable rate applications,” Mr O’Neill said. 

“They are fully battery powered and the batteries charge in about 10 minutes – they are great for timely spray or fertiliser applications, especially in hilly country.

“We have sold a few drones in the local region especially for black berry spraying.”

Mr O’Neill said Akron values collaborating with businesses wanting to bring the benefits of agricultural drone technology to more farmers.

At AKRON, excellent after sales service is paramount and the business has a goal to provide to notch support, training and ongoing assistance. 

“We are here to ensure you get the most out of our products and have a partner you can rely on as your farming needs evolve.”