Drone Zone
Location: Site S28
From first flight to first client, your drone journey starts here
Your place to take flight
Visit the Fieldays® Drone Zone to discover how drones are revolutionising farm management practices, and explore opportunities to engage with industry experts and innovators. Whether you're a seasoned drone professional or a curious enthusiast, the Drone Zone promises an immersive experience that celebrates the forefront of agricultural technology.
Choose your path
The Drone Zone, supported by the Agricultural Drone Association (ADA), will showcase the exciting opportunities drones are opening up for agriculture.
First time here
See the tech in action
New to drones? Start with the drone demonstrations
Farmer exploring options
Spot spray automation
Thinking about a spray drone for the farm?
Future pilot or owner
Careers and certification
Ready to make it your job? Information on certification and training available and advice on a range of new drone careers
More to see, explore the site
Download the app
Once you've visited the Fieldays Drone Zone, use the official Fieldays app to explore all the great drone exhibitors at the event.
What you'll see and do
From gorse-covered hillsides to lambing paddocks, see the same drones farmers are using to spray, seed, muster, and map their land. See live demonstrations.
High-Precision Spraying & Weed Control
Drones are highly favored for targeting difficult invasive weeds and executing precision crop protection:
Hill Country Weed Control
Eliminating noxious weeds like gorse, blackberry, pampas, and wilding pines on slopes too steep or dangerous for tractors or quad bikes.
Horticulture & Vineyards
Utilised in kiwifruit, apple, and avocado orchards. The downward airflow ("prop wash") from drone rotors forces sprays deep into dense fruit canopies to coat the undersides of leaves.
Spot Spraying
Treating individual weed patches or specific crop blocks rather than blanketing entire paddocks, which significantly cuts down chemical volumes and wastage.
Spreading & Seeding
Equipped with heavy-duty dry-material hoppers, drones manage localized hill country development:
Hill Country Pasture Development:
Spreading grass seed and fertilizer onto cleared, rugged hillsides where ground rigs cannot safely tread.
Cover Crops & Hill Seeding
Carrying out light-rate cover crop seeding and native revegetation following forestry harvesting.
Livestock & Pasture Development
Drones serve as a high-tech extra set of hands for sheep, beef, and dairy farmers:
Aerial Mustering
Silently guiding cattle and sheep between paddocks, minimizing stress on livestock and cutting down the reliance on working dogs.
Animal Welfare Tracking
Deploying thermal imaging cameras during lambing season to locate ewes in distress or find lost stock across vast, remote blocks.
Precision Mapping & Crop Health Analysis
Using multi-spectral and hyperspectral sensors, drones provide data-driven insights:
3D Farm Mapping
Generating high-resolution terrain models to identify drainage problems, erosion patterns, and nutrient variances.
Early Stress Detection
Spotting irrigation failures, nitrogen deficiencies, or pest infestations before they become visible to the naked eye.
Why Drones are Exploding in Popularity across NZ
| Benefit | How It Solves NZ Farming Challenges |
|---|---|
| Terrain Access | Navigates waterlogged paddocks, boggy wetlands, and cliffs without soil compaction or vehicle roll-over risks. |
| Environmental Compliance | Helps meet strict regional council rules regarding nutrient runoff and chemical drift by using ultra-precise target zoning. |
| Capturing "Weather Windows" | Allows immediate, rapid deployment by farmers or local contractors when short dry spells occur between rain clouds. |
| Health & Safety | Eliminates manual spray risks on steep hills and reduces operator chemical exposure by more than 90%. |
Fielday Drone Zone | 2026
Experience it firsthand
Farming has gone high-tech! Drones can access land that is too steep, too wet, or difficult for traditional farm machinery. See drones in action at Fieldays!
2026 Session Timetable
The Fieldays 2027 timetable will be updated in early 2027.
Wednesday 10 June - Saturday 13 June. Same sessions per day
| Time | Session name | About |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00am | Drone Zone - Learn Spot Spray Automation | Learn how to build spot spraying maps and load them into your Spray Drone |
| 11:00am | Drone Zone - Learn about Drone Careers | Ag Spraying, Surveying, Photography. Learn how to make money with a drone |
| 1:00pm | Drone Zone - Learn Drone Certification | What do you need to be fully certified to fly a Spray Drone |
| 2:00pm | Drone Zone - How to start an Agdrone business | What is required to start a succesful Agricultural Spray Drone business |
“ The ADA will play a crucial role in advocating for New Zealand's agricultural drone operators, and enhancing skills and knowledge within the industry. „
Craig Simpson, President of the Agricultural Drone Association (ADA)
FAQs
Drones are strictly not permitted unless prior arrangements have been made with Fieldays before the event.
Fieldays is held at Mystery Creek Events Centre, 125 Mystery Creek Road, Ōhaupō, New Zealand.
Mystery Creek is a 15-minute drive from Hamilton’s CBD, 2 minutes from Hamilton Airport, a 15-minute drive from Te Awamutu and Cambridge, and just over 1.5 hours from Auckland, Tauranga and Rotorua. Please be aware times may vary due to periods of high-volume traffic. For more information, visit our website page Getting to Fieldays.
Ample free parking is available off Mystery Creek Road and Airport Road. Use the handy 'pin your car' feature in the Fieldays App to ensure you can easily find your vehicle at the end of the day.
The Fieldays App helps you plan, navigate, and get the most out of your Fieldays experience. You can use the app to:
- Plan your visit by browsing exhibitors, products, and event schedules
- Find your way around using interactive maps and site navigation
- Save favourites like exhibitors, events, and activities to create your own itinerary
- Stay up to date with key event information
- Access essential info including parking, transport, amenities, and accessibility details
- Discover what’s on each day, including demonstrations, talks, and competitions
The app is designed to make your Fieldays visit easier, more organised, and more enjoyable, before you arrive and while you’re on site.
Download free from the App Store or Google Play.
The Fieldays App has a map with parking, exhibitor, food court information and more, making it easy to plan your trip and navigate your way around.
Download free from the App Store or Google Play.
| 2025
See live at the Fieldays Drone Zone
We kindly thank Fieldays Drone Zone Sponsor
Partners, Premier Sponsor, and Media Partner
