TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Drone deployment to help battle weeds in New South Wales

The NSW government is using drones to help combat weeds in the central and west areas of the state.

Staff writer

This article is 3 years old. Images might not display.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Paul Toole, said the NSW Government will invest $12.8 million over the next 12 months through the NSW Weed Action Program to tackle problem weeds.

"Months of wet weather has not only added to the weed burden but has made it harder to undertake on-the-ground surveillance and control measures," Toole said.

"Through this program, Local Land Services will roll out drones to councils across the Central West and set them up to help map weed infestations - and ultimately deploy larger drones to spray invasive plants from the air.

"It's just one of the innovative weed control measures we're rolling out to help bolster frontline efforts in the war on weeds."

Minister for Agriculture, Dugald Saunders, said the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services had recently released 10,000 St John's Wort beetles across the Central West to target the problem weed.

"We've deployed thousands of these beetles from Bathurst to Wellington, Coonabarabran and Gilgandra to combat outbreaks of that problem weed across the region," Saunders said.

"We'll now monitor those beetle populations to see if they can establish themselves in the region to provide ongoing support in the war on weeds."

Saunders said those frontline efforts were supported by increased monitoring to stamp out weeds wherever they sprouted.

"We carried out 73,091 surveillance activities across the state last year - a significant increase from the 49,682 activities completed in 2018," Saunders said.

"But the key to this program's success is the fact it's an investment in awareness, training, education and building community capacity to proactively address weeds and their impact."

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the farming sector, brought to you by the Kondinin team.

editions

Research Report: Agritechnica 2025 (January 2026)

This month’s Research Report covers the highlights from Agritechnica – the world’s largest trade fair and show for ag machinery and technology. The event is held every two years and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.

editions

Research Report: Mobile Phones (December 2025)

With the closure of Telstra’s 3G network, Kondinin Group engineers Josh Giumelli and Ben White put several popular 4G phones to the test to see how they stacked up. Our standard test protocol applied over the past two decades was maintained as each handset was measured by the maximum distance a two-way call could be made from a phone tower.

editions

Research Report: Side-by-side Vehicles (November 2025)

Kondinin Group’s research team dives into the side-by-side market for this report, looking at popular diesel models, a few petrol versions and a couple of electric vehicles.

editions

Research Report: Farming Inputs (October 2025)

Inputs are unavoidable in any farming system. This Research Report focuses on several key farming inputs with a view to maximising outputs, production and profit.