Australian-owned and operated sprayer manufacturer Goldacres produces around 65 models suited to broadacre, horticulture, pasture, contracting and home and garden.

Last year marked a massive year for the company. Not only was there an above average season throughout most of the country, a new model was released with the G6 Series 2 Crop Cruiser and two new Goldacres Sprayer Centre retail outlets were opened in Western Australia and South Australia. There were also big developments in weed detecting camera technology.

The G6 Series 2 self-propelled sprayer release was in June 2020 and could not have come at a better time, with most of the country getting a great start to the season and finally a break in the drought for New South Wales.

The G6 Series 2 is designed on feedback from owners and operators and combined with advances in engineering and technology.

Central to the G6 Series 2 design is the G Hub (Goldacres integrated system), the greatest advancement in sprayer control Goldacres has ever offered.  This is a system that makes your time in the sprayer easier, with all controls and information at your fingertips.

Improvements have been made across the entire machine but more noticeably include the following:

• All new TriTech RivX boom in sizes 36-42m and now the option of up to 48 metres. The all new RivX boom features even greater boom stability and rigidity, largely due to the design and construction of the steel inner wings and aluminium/steel composite outer wings.
• Hydraulic operated outer boom wing folding replaces the cable drum fold mechanism on the 36 and 42m booms. The mechanism includes a hydraulic breakaway feature to protect the boom in the event of a collision with an object.
• Inside the cab, operators are treated to the all-new G-Hub Goldacres integrated system. The fully-integrated control screen is used to display all relevant machine data for the operator in an ergonomic and robust package.
• External machine filling and rinsing functions are operated using a five-inch display and 10-button key pad located in the side pod filling area. Live product and rinse tank volumes can be viewed on both internal and external displays.
• The operator workstation area and fill system has been totally redesigned to dramatically reduce sprayer refill times (more than twice the fill rate of the previous model). In addition, the new system offers many more features whilst still retaining its easy to use philosophy.

New Sprayer Centres

In July 2020, Goldacres took over the Agserve Goomalling dealership in Western Australia, rebranding it Goldacres Sprayer Centre - Goomalling.

South Australia was next on the radar with potential for better Goldacres customer support paramount for the dealership.

A suitable location in Bordertown was found and the Goldacres Sprayer Centre- Bordertown dealership was officially opened to the public in February 2021.

Latest technology

Goldacres has recently upped the game in the technology department with the factory fitment of weed sensing cameras called Weedetect.

Weedetect is a Bilberry-based camera system that is fundamentally different to other sensors on the market, using artificial intelligence, deep learning and high speed, high definition cameras to determine what is a weed and what is not.

While the system would initially be limited to sensing ‘green-on-brown', in other words green weeds on fallows, Australian development would soon see the system offering in-crop or ‘green-on-green' weed recognition.

With green-on-green technology, the possibilities are endless. Basically, if you can see the weed in the crop such as ryegrass in canola then the camera can detect it.

Recently Goldacres also commissioned a fully autonomous sprayer with green-on-green weed detection using a SwarmBot robot and Goldacres prairie special trailing sprayer.

Swarm Farm produces a range of autonomous tractors for many different agricultural applications.

The SwarmBot "Uniform" is a fully autonomous robot powered by a Hatz four-cylinder diesel engine producing 62kW (83hp). The robot has hydraulic drive with articulated steering and a top speed set to 10 km/h.

"Uniform" will tow the custom built Goldacres 2500L, 18m Prairie Special set up with Weedetect spot spraying which can handle green-on-green (weeds in crop) or green-on-brown camera technology with the added ability for blanket spraying when required.

The sprayer features a Raven controller with RCM (Raven control module) 16 boom sections, four x 1.5m sections and 12 x 1.0m sections with six cameras mounted 3m apart.

Weed detection camera technology provides substantial chemical savings as opposed to blanket spraying. To have a system with the ability to detect weeds in crop is a real game changer for a year-round spraying program.

This system enables the user to get the spraying done using substantially less chemical, in the ideal spraying conditions, without a physical operator, ready to spray 24/7.

More details:
www.goldacres.com.au