Joe Sgambelloni, a chestnut grower from Myrtleford, VIC, was facing a common challenge: how to effectively spray trees that tower up to 13 metres tall. His old air-blast sprayer just wasn’t cutting it.
Our old sprayer was only reaching about 80% of the tree. The Cropliner gets right to the top—10 out of 10.
— Joe Sgambelloni, Myrtleford, VIC
With 70 acres of chestnuts and a canopy full of fruit at the top, Joe needed a sprayer with serious reach. After a chat with Brendan from McGregor Machinery, he was introduced to the Croplands Territory Manager Brett Kay and the Cropliner XL. A demo sealed the deal.
“It’s just a great unit. Well-built, powerful fan, and it does exactly what we need it to do,” he said.
Joe also praised the customer service from both McGregor Machinery and Croplands, with Brett helping Joe fine-tune the machine with a flow meter and jet adjustments to suit varying spray volumes.
“Brett was fantastic. He came out, brought different jets, adjusted the machine—it was great service.”
With years of experience and a strong relationship with his local dealer, Joe says he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Croplands to other growers with tall trees.
“If anyone’s after a sprayer for tall trees, I’d highly recommend using something from Croplands. I wouldn’t go past them,” he said.
Michael Sinclair, a sixth-generation farmer from Temora, NSW, knows a thing or two about reliability. With over 2,800 hectares of mixed cropping and livestock to manage, he doesn’t have time for equipment that doesn’t perform.
That’s why Michael recently purchased his fourth Croplands Pegasus sprayer—a decision rooted in years of experience and trust.
I just know the product. I know its weaknesses and its strengths—and the Pegasus range is reliable.
— Michael Sinclair, Temora, NSW
Michael’s operation includes wheat, canola, barley, and an Aussie White livestock enterprise. With a small but efficient team, simplicity and service are key.
“It’s easy to use, and if I do bend something, I can fix it myself. It’s still a steel boom, and that makes a difference,” he said.
Beyond the machine itself, Michael values the local support network, including his long-standing relationship with Croplands rep David Hamilton.
“David’s just half an hour down the road. His product knowledge is extensive, and he’s always there when we need help,” he said.
With a strong heritage in farming and a practical approach to technology, Michael isn’t chasing the latest trends—he’s sticking with what works.
Ian Ladner shared his experience with the WEED-IT Retrofit Kit, highlighting its benefits in conserving moisture and reducing chemical usage.
At Croplands, we are committed to providing innovative solutions that enhance farming efficiency and sustainability. Recently, we worked with Ian Ladner from Wolonga Farming Co. Their land is in Branchview, located on the Darling Downs, 87km west of Toowoomba in Queensland. Ian and his family have been farming this land for more than 95 years, and they recently adopted our WEED-IT Retrofit Kit to improve their operations.
Wolonga Farming Co, operated by Ian, David and Harry Ladner, spans 1700 hectares. The farm grows a variety of crops, including cotton, wheat, sorghum, chickpea, mung bean, and soybean. The Ladners have integrated the Hayes 3-point Linkage sprayer with a 24m WEED-IT Retrofit Kit sensor spray system, supplied by Croplands and the Toowoomba Spray Shop.
Ian Ladner shared his experience with the WEED-IT Retrofit Kit, highlighting its benefits in conserving moisture and reducing chemical usage. The sensor technology in the sprayer has significantly improved weed control by accurately identifying and targeting weeds, resulting in substantial savings on chemicals.
The WEED-IT Retrofit Kit is incredibly easy to attach and couple to our tractor. The technology is user-friendly, and the results have been excellent. It’s made our operations much more efficient.
Ian and David Ladner, Wolonga Farming Co, QLD
Key Benefits:
Sustainability: By reducing the need for cultivation, the Ladners are preserving soil moisture and improving the overall health of their soil.
Efficiency: The WEED-IT Retrofit Kit is easy to attach and couple to the tractor, making it user-friendly.
Precision: The advanced sensor technology ensures precise weed identification and control.
Cost Savings: The Ladners have seen a significant reduction in chemical usage, estimating savings of around two thirds compared to previous methods. Ian says there’s greater potential going forward as they “tune it to a fine art”.
Ian praised the support from Croplands Queensland Territory Manager Lachlan Coom and Scott Simpson from the Toowoomba Spray Shop, noting the excellent service and the seamless integration of the sprayer with their existing equipment. He emphasised the ease of use and the positive impact on their farming operations.
Croplands is proud to support farmers in their journey towards more sustainable and productive farming practices.
Two Australian Companies Partner to Bring an Autonomous Optical Spot Spraying Solution to the Australian Broadacre Market
Croplands, Nufarm’s emerging solutions spray equipment platform, has partnered with SwarmFarm, a specialist in autonomous robots to launch a fully integrated optical spot spraying solution for the Australian broadacre market.
Croplands has a strong pedigree in engineering quality, large scale broadacre spraying solutions suited to the harsh Australian environment. The Pinto trailed sprayer range represents Croplands design philosophy: robust design and generous dimensions resulting in unmatched durability, simplicity and functionality. Croplands has engineered a Robot Ready Pinto with suspended gooseneck attachment, 3000L Tank & 18m or 24m booms which seamlessly integrates with Swarm Farm’s autonomous SwarmBot. The SwarmBot is an articulated autonomous tool carrier on 3m centres ideally suited to broadacre applications.
Lachlan Coom, WEED-IT Product Lead, Croplands, says “We have been testing our Robot Ready Pinto in numerous soil types and terrains across Queensland, including the heavy black soils on the Darling Downs.”
Apart from the excellent maneuverability of the gooseneck design, we were also impressed by the boom’s stability with the auto height control exceeding expectations.
Lachlan Coom, WEED-IT Product Lead, Croplands
“We were also very happy that the integration went smoothly between the sprayer and robot when setting it up for it’s initial test run. SwarmFarm really know their stuff.” Says Lachlan.
The Robot Ready Pinto 3000 boasts a 24m or 18m fully hydraulic steel boom, 3m axle with rubber block suspension, the newly designed gooseneck attachment is also fitted with a unique suspension system. An additional poly mounted tank is fitted to the gooseneck of the chassis can be used as a high-capacity flush tank or alternatively as extra spraying capacity for large jobs.
“Croplands specifically designed the boom on the Robot Ready Pinto to enable twin line plumbing and sensors, which are pointing directly to the ground.” Says Lachlan. The newly designed boom delivers a high specification liquid system accurately and compliments the robust chassis. The chassis features 1-inch stainless steel boom plumbing, triple nozzle bodies and standard boom recirculation being supplied by a stainless-steel high-performance Ace centrifugal pump. Dual flow meters are fitted as standard equipment to allow for highly accurate PWM blanket spraying as an addition to the standard spot spraying the WEED-IT Quadro system is renowned for. Left and Right fence row nozzles, a standard high clearance of 1000mm for in-crop capabilities and easy-to-use fill panel with 2-inch fill, tank rinse, agitation & a handwash tank round out an exceptional package that ticks all the boxes.
Standard inclusions make spraying simple with work lights fitted, along with additional blue lights for nighttime spraying.
Braydon Bullock, grower located at Oakey in Queensland saw the Robot Ready Pinto integrated with the SwarmBot on his property during Croplands and SwarmFarm’s testing. “The unit looks solid. I like how the WEED-IT sensors are mounted at a right angle to the boom facing straight down into the stubble, I note there is also plenty of room for the boom plumbing to be mounted.” Braydon says.
Croplands and Robotics Plus partner to introduce Prospr to the Australian horticulture market. Robotics Plus’ Prospr, a multi-use autonomous vehicle for sustainable vineyard and orchard production, is now exclusively available from Croplands in Australia and New Zealand.
Croplands is now the exclusive Australasian distributor of Prospr, a robust autonomous, multi-use hybrid vehicle platform for horticulture crops designed by Robotics Plus. Prospr significantly increases efficiency across a variety of crop tasks and alleviates labour challenges, with capabilities including automated intelligent spraying.
The distribution agreement complements the existing technology partnership between the companies. Robotics Plus specialises in the design and build of robotics, AI, and autonomous machines, and Croplands has over 50 years of experience in world-leading spraying solutions.
Robotics Plus, Prospr (4 fan model)
Sean Mulvaney, General Manager, Croplands, says, “We are proud to partner with Robotics Plus on the design and manufacture of world-leading Quantum sprayer modules to integrate onto Prospr, the autonomous platform developed in New Zealand for horticulture markets. Our focus on bringing emerging solutions to the market continues with the opportunity to distribute Prospr and a range of sprayer attachments across Australia and New Zealand.”
Steve Saunders, Co-founder and Chief Executive, Robotics Plus (left) and Sean Mulvaney, General Manager, Croplands (right) together with Prospr in South Australia
Steve Saunders, Co-founder, and Chief Executive, Robotics Plus, says, “We are all about partners with purpose to adapt and shift to solve problems. Agriculture is time-critical, and with Croplands, we are combining deep domain expertise to benefit growers.”
We have developed an automated, effective spraying and attachment solution with the smarts to not just do the job but to keep doing it better. Prospr customers in Australia will now benefit from Croplands’ large distributor network, spraying expertise and customer support.
Steve Saunders, Co-founder & Chief Executive, Robotics Plus
Robust and flexible to maximise utility Prospr is a robust autonomous vehicle with all-day running that adapts to growers’ jobs while reducing emissions, inputs, and reliance on increasingly hard-to-find machine operators. Prospr’s unique modular architecture accommodates multiple interchangeable tools being developed, including newly released tower sprayers for grapes, apples, or tree crops. The right tool for the job is attached to the vehicle depending on the day’s work, allowing different tools for various crop types and applications year-round to maximise return on investment. Multiple Prospr machines can collaborate in a fleet to get the job done. The autonomous vehicle uses a combination of perception systems to sense the environment, putting valuable data and insights into the hands of growers.
Fuel Efficiency Prospr has an all-electric drive system for superior torque and control. Its onboard power generation, with a Tier 4 diesel generator, allows the vehicle to operate for extended periods without charging or refuelling. Regenerative braking and high-capacity batteries extend range, while its intelligent all-wheel-drive system with independent wheel motors gives superior manoeuvrability, grip, and control.
Modular and adaptable Prospr has a small footprint and unique steering configuration, incorporating electric steering and independent motors. The vehicle turns on its rear axle with a minimum headland requirement of 7.1m for row-to-row turning. Minimum row spacing is 1.85m, giving growers options to deploy automation in a greater variety of applications in various crop types. This means the ground is covered faster, maximising productivity and spray time compared to machines that turn on every second row or greater. The vehicle’s lightweight design, combined with its unique tyre and wheel configuration, reduces ground compaction. Robotics Plus’ ongoing partnership with Yamaha Motor Co, a global technology leader, allows the company to take advantage of their extensive knowledge in machine vision, artificial intelligence, and productising vehicles for scale.
Q Series Sprayers Q Series Sprayers, developed by Robotics Plus in conjunction with Croplands, allow growers to deploy a range of sprayer configurations, adapting to various crop types and growing systems. The Q4 / Q6 sprayers have two or three fans per side designed for either vine or tree crops. The Q8 sprayer comprises eight fans, four per side, and is best suited to tree crops. Spray rates and air speed are dynamic and controlled per fan to maximise spray efficacy through electric drive and control systems. The sprayers are built using Croplands Quantum fans that produce targeted, controlled and turbulent air for better coverage from the superior droplet formation and spray deposition.
Safety and Management To implement Prospr, a mesh network is installed to give a more consistent connection and interaction with the machine, improving operational efficiencies and user safety. Operators can manage and streamline the day’s work with a new organisational tool with an easy-to-use interface. Coordination is enabled between team members with multi-language support across various desktop and mobile devices. Jobs can be logged in advance and viewed in real-time. Completed or in-progress jobs are mapped and recorded digitally. Multiple machines can be managed simultaneously by one or two operators from a single remote control via a fixed or mobile console.
For more information on Prospr or to order from Croplands, please contact your Croplands Territory Manager.
Croplands, leading spray equipment manufacturer, and MagrowTec, leaders in magnetically assisted spray technology, are pleased to announce their new partnership, joining forces to bring MagrowTec to Australian and New Zealand growers.
MagrowTec has worked with leading growers in both Australia and New Zealand to undertake rigorous in field crop science studies which has consistently demonstrated significant agronomic benefits such as greatly improved coverage, better canopy penetration, improved water management and drift reduction.
Magnetic spray assist technology can be retrofitted to existing machines or installed on new machines
James Turtle, MagrowTec BDM for Southern Australia says, “Current users of the product are not only seeing the benefits of improved crop protection but are also realising that their spraying program is becoming more efficient by either reducing the amount of sprays required or by not having to increase their water rate to do a better job”.
“The proven performance of this technology will help optimise your chemical application and deliver an excellent return on investment. Every time you spray, you’ll be landing more droplets and therefore chemical on the target, which results in improved crop health and yield, putting more dollars back into your pocket whilst also benefitting the environment.” says James.
We will be demoing the system live during our spraywise days, contact your local Territory Manager for further details.
Croplands Equipment General Manager, Sean Mulvaney says, “We are proudly partnering with MagrowTec to bring their magnetic spray technology solution to both Australian and New Zealand growers.” he says.
We are incredibly excited and confident in this acquisition and the positive impact it will have on the Croplands business as a whole.
Croplands Equipment General Manager, Sean Mulvaney
The addition of MagrowTec’s patented technology to Croplands’ extensive range of specialised spraying solutions will provide growers with a leading edge opportunity to significantly, yet simply, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their existing boom spray applications within their current farming systems.
The simplicity is not only in the benefits the magnetic fields impart into the fluid, but also in the fact the system can be installed on any boom sprayer, requires no power, has no electronics, can be transferred to new boom sprayers and is virtually maintenance free.
MagrowTec, in partnership with Croplands, look forward to engaging with growers and agronomists across Australia and New Zealand to discuss further how our technology might benefit their businesses.
We will be demoing the system live during our spraywise demo days planned for early 2024 and encourage any growers keen to look at the technology to register their interest with their local Croplands Territory Manager.
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