Wet ground, steep country, crops too tall to drive through. Precision aerial spraying and spreading at up to 21 hectares an hour — no wheel tracks, no compaction, no bogged machinery.
Free quote · No obligation · Answered the same day
We're not here to replace your self-propelled boom. We're here for the paddocks and the windows where it can't go.
After rain we fly while the ground rig sits in the shed. Fungicide on inside the window instead of two weeks late.
From $45/haBlackberry, lantana, gorse and scattered pasture weeds in hills, gullies and along fence lines.
From $300/hrUrea, gypsum, cover crop seed, slug and mouse bait. Up to 1.5 tonnes an hour, 50 kg a load.
From $28/haDownwash-driven canopy penetration over avocados, macadamias, citrus and vines — including blocks on slopes.
From $55/haCane, sorghum, cotton and maize past the height a rig can travel. No crop damage, no wheel-track losses.
From $45/haUnder 40 ha, odd shapes, powerline corridors, dam banks and headlands where a big rig wastes chemical turning.
Hourly or per haA missed window costs more than any contractor's invoice. Drones don't care if the paddock is soft, the crop is tall, or the block sits on a twenty-degree face.
| Condition | Ground rig | Drone |
|---|---|---|
| Broadacre >500 ha | Cheaper | Slower |
| Wet ground | Can't travel | Flies |
| Steep / timbered | Unsafe | Flies |
| Tall crop | Crop damage | No contact |
| Small odd blocks | Turning losses | Efficient |
| Spot / patch work | Whole-paddock | Target only |
We'll tell you straight when a ground rig is the better call. Repeat clients are worth more than one oversold invoice.
The machine most Australian contract drone sprayers run: coaxial dual-rotor, 54-inch props, dual active phased-array radar, binocular vision and RTK guidance. The whole operation travels on one trailer.
Our estimator uses the benchmarks Australian contract drone operators actually charge. No sign-up, no email gate.
Priced off your water rate — the industry rule of thumb is about $1.80 per litre-per-hectare applied.
20 L/ha ≈ $36/ha / 40 L/ha ≈ $72/haCharged on flying time, because a hectare figure means nothing on a gully full of blackberry.
$275–$325/hr / 2 hr minimumPriced on kilograms per hectare and total tonnage placed.
From $28/ha / up to 1.5 t/hrWe're building next season's run list now. Foundation clients get first call on dates, rates locked for the season, and no mobilisation fee on the first job. No payment, no commitment.
For the right jobs, yes — sometimes better. Rotor downwash pushes fine droplets into the canopy rather than relying on pressure alone, which is why drones do well on tall crops and dense orchard canopies. Where a ground rig still wins is flat, dry, large broadacre country: it's cheaper per hectare at scale.
Typically 20–40 L/ha broadacre and 40–100 L/ha for orchards and vines, depending on the label and the canopy. Every product label sets a minimum water rate for aerial application and we don't go under it — that's law, not preference.
Realistically 80–150 ha a day for broadacre work once you allow for mixing, refills, battery swaps and wind delays. Less for spot spraying or awkward blocks.
Buffer zones, droplet size selection and a hard wind limit. We log wind speed and direction at application, check sensitive areas and neighbouring susceptible crops before we start, and we'll stand a job down rather than fly it in the wrong conditions.
Usually yes — most growers already have their product and an agronomist's recommendation. We handle mixing, loading, application and records, and can work directly to your agronomist's written recommendation.
$850 ex GST covers mobilising, setting up and flying. Below about 15–20 ha that minimum is usually what applies — so small blocks are far better value if you can line up a few neighbours on the same day.
Tell us the crop, the hectares and the window. You'll have a price back the same day.