Case Study | Pumanawa Farm

Location: Tauranga Bay, Northland
Client: Pumanawa Farms
Project: Precision Spraying and Seeding

Pumanawa Farms sits amidst Northland’s stunning Tauranga Bay, overlooking the world-famous Whangaroa Harbour—an area immortalised by American author Zane Grey in the 1920s as “The Angler’s El Dorado.”

Since January 2024, we’ve been partnering with Pumanawa Farms to help restore the mauri (life force) of their land. Our collaboration began with harvesting pine trees and removing other non-native species, followed by replanting native bush to regenerate the whenua (land).

Minimising Drift and Protecting Sensitive Areas

Pumanawa Farms has a diverse landscape, including sensitive areas such as olive trees adjacent to spray zones. By closely monitoring wind conditions and operating our spray drones at low altitudes (approximately 4 metres AGL), we ensured that no spray drift impacted these sensitive crops.

Our precision drone technology, utilising RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) positioning, allows us to create highly accurate spray plans. This means we can fly right up to sensitive boundaries—without overspray or drift affecting neighbouring properties—achieving sub-centimetre accuracy (within 1cm).

“Minimising chemical runoff into the harbour is crucial.”
— Darcy, Farm Manager

Mapping and Terrain Challenges

Before any spraying, we used our survey drone to map the entire area, identifying exactly where to spray and—equally important—where to avoid. This pre-flight planning is essential in a landscape that includes extremely steep hillsides.

Our P100 Pro Tana spray drone proved invaluable on these slopes. With three different flight modes, we selected the best option for each part of the farm. In particular, we leveraged 3D route planning and RealTerraFree3D flight technology, which enables the drone to fly along near-vertical cliffs with perfectly straight spray lines—regardless of the underlying terrain.

“Drone Spray are great to work with because of their accuracy and efficiency, as well as reduced noise pollution. Using a helicopter wouldn’t align with our needs because of the noise and the risk it poses to the public. Minimising public concern is important to us.”
— Darcy, Farm Manager

Seeding for Regeneration

As the pine harvesting operation was wrapping up, Darcy asked us to spread ryegrass and clover seed on the freshly cleared land. Timing was critical: by seeding immediately after harvesting, we ensured the grass seed germinated before weed seeds could take hold—resulting in fully grassed hillsides instead of the typical post-harvest weed forest.

In addition to seeding, we also provided targeted weed spraying services. We tackled woolly nightshade, gorse, lantana, inkweed, and other woody weeds that are common in Northland.

Low-Impact, Neighbour-Friendly Solutions