Various situations where you might want to utilise a drone for seed spreading include:
1. Filling in gaps or weak areas of pasture: say you've had disease, wet patches, a bad strike or even used the wrong sowing rate when initially putting a paddock into grass - our drone spreader is the perfect solution, especially if the area is hard to get at, or too wet/delicate to drive on with heavy machinery. Furthermore, variable rate spreading is available, which is a great way to save on product in a situation where some parts of your paddock need more seed than others (see Variable Rate Applications).
2. Clover or feed crop incorporation: if you're looking to add different plants to an existing paddock, with the same effect as direct drilling clover, kale or plantain (for example) with a tractor and drill, the drone is a modern and cost efficient way of doing so. Spreading the seed into the grass, and allowing animals to graze the paddock for a few days afterward, allows the seed to be driven into the soil by their hooves. Next, stock is removed and the paddock shut up, and with the help of a shower of rain, the newly sewn crop will emerge alongside the grass.
A similar procedure here would be to spray out the grass once the seed has been spread; the dying grass will cover the seed and allow for a strike. In doing this you also remove any competition hindering the success of the newly sewn plants.
3. Forestry cut-over (or the likes) back into pasture: if you've had a forestry block harvested, trees removed, or just any operation where machinery has disturbed the topsoil, spreading grass seed from our drone is a great option. Not only will it prevent the growth of unwanted plants or weeds with a cover crop, but it will obviously produce grazable pasture instead. Creating this cover crop will also promote the decomposition of any leftover debris.
4. Spreading a cover crop before harvest: an innovative way to sow your winter cover crops is emerging. As an example, using our drone, you can aerially spread turnip seed over a crop of maize prior to harvesting it. The seeds find their way to the ground, and once the header and chaser bins have removed the crop, their driving on top of the paddock has also incorporated the seed into the soil and maize trash. With the help of some rain, this will be sufficient in striking the turnip, providing you with a winter crop without having to use more passes with heavy machinery in your paddocks.
