United States-based PrecisionHawk launched its new Sydney office this week, with business development executive Nathaniel Hyde named as director of Australia.

The move is set to provide Australian farmers with the opportunity to access the full-stack, aerial imaging platform being widely used in the United States, Latin America and Europe.

Speaking at National Farmers Federation Congress in Canberra this week, Hyde also announced a partnership with agricultural powerhouse Ruralco to offer PrecisionHawk’s drone and data packages at all of its retail locations.

“The quality of insights that PrecisionHawk is able to deliver is unparalleled across various industries,” Hyde said.  

“We have seen time and time again how drones, coupled with the right remote sensing technology and data analytics, are increasing the efficiency and return on investment for users. 

“I look forward to working closely with Ruralco and our clients to deliver effective information to businesses across the country.”

PrecisionHawk co-founder Christopher Dean said Australia was a key market for many clients.

“Our relationship with Ruralco brought to light the growing demand for an easy to use, holistic platform for precision farming, and creating this dedicated, local presence will allow us to meet that demand and drive the adoption of drone technology even further,” he said.

The full suite of PrecisionHawk tools includes the company’s industry-leading data management and analytics platform, DataMapper, and proprietary drone safety platform.

Its expansion into Australia is set to boost the drone market in agriculture.

Ruralco CEO and managing director Travis Dillon said PrecisionHawk’s success stemmed from an ability to deliver market-leading data and analytics that provide deeper insights into the productivity of a farm.

“We are always looking for new and innovative technologies that will help our clients work more effectively and efficiently,” he said.

“We believe that the launch of a local, PrecisionHawk office will help to more widely propel the adoption of drone technology by our clients and optimise how the agriculture industry uses aerial data.”