Growing interest among farmers in using drones has led a Southland catchment group to organise a field day to showcase the technology.

Otago South River Care is holding a field day today and tomorrow on a farm in Balclutha with over 80 people expected to attend.

Group co-ordinator Rebecca Begg said catchment group members often talk about innovation on farms and drones keep coming up as something farmers want to try.

"Many are interested but aren't ready to take the leap yet, so we want to show them what's available and get some of the technology down to the South Island as most of it is based in the North Island."

Drone company Ferntech and contract spraying company Aerial Agri Solutionz will showcase their drones.

Begg said there is a growing list of how drones can be used on farms.

"You've got your standard drones, which you can use for inspection purposes so either looking for stock or checking troughs. You can get drones with speakers on them which people call barking drones so those are used for mustering.

"We've got a thermal drone that's coming out of Auckland, that can be used for pest management and spray drones which can be used for spot and blanket spraying particularly in smaller areas that you can't get to with a helicopter."

A barking drone Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers

Begg said farmers are embracing the technology.

"I think there's a lot of things at the moment that are making farmers look at how they can do things more efficiently and also in a more sustainable sort of way, especially when you look at things like the price of diesel and fuel.

"Technology is becoming integrated into farming practices now and there's just so many things drones can help with."

A seed dropping drone at work. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro

Bill Paterson who runs Aerial Agri Solutionz in Southland will be showcasing his 16 litre drone which can be used for spraying or spreading seeds.

He said drones have great precision and allow farmers to access areas without having to create tracks through crops.

"Obviously the drones don't carry as much as a helicopter but the accuracy when it's running off, GPS is down to the centimetre, so in tight blocks which have sensitive areas around them are where drones really comes into their own. It has variable nozzles on it so you can make droplets bigger to avoid drift."

Paterson, who worked as a commercial helicopter pilot before the pandemic, said interest has been growing since he set up the company at the start of the year.

"We've sprayed about 200 hectares so far including on our own farm and we're looking to do a lot more research and development over the winter so we can increase the area next summer."

Bill Pateron with his drone. Photo: Supplied / Rebecca Begg

The technology is expensive and there are a lot of rules to comply with when flying drones, so it's not as simple for farmers to get into on their own, he said.

"I'm lucky; I have my background as a pilot, but there is some chat that in the future there's going to be more of a system like Australia has for getting your air operating certificate which would make it easier to get into.

"I'm sure in the future we will see a lot more drones being used in the agriculture sector," he said.

Sally Murphy, RNZ reporter

Republished by Arrangement