Farmer-first. Drone-powered. Built for the land.
Nick Hoogeveen is a Canterbury farmer, not a tech specialist who learned about farming. He's been flying drones on his own land for over a decade, and now brings that hands-on farming experience to your property.
and bred farmer
years using drones on farm
trained and certified
Nick Hoogeveen has been farming his whole life. He did his time at Lincoln and came out with a degree focused on ag. and technology. For years, he was the hands-on managing director of Kintore Farm in Mid Canterbury, one of the region's large-scale dairy operations, fully self contained and covering over 850 hectares of dairy, support, beef, and cropping operations. He knows what it takes to run land at that scale, and he knows what it costs when things get missed.
He got his first drone in 2013, giving him over 12 years of real life experience long before the technology was common on farms. What started as curiosity became a weekly part of how he managed the operation.
When Nick turns up on your farm, he's not selling you on tech. He's a farmer who found something that works, and now he does it for you.
A drone only covers the ground needed with no wheel marks, no crop damage, no compaction, no wasted product. Gets into the places a tractor or spray rig can't reach with centimeter level precision.
Precision mapping and application reduces product wasted in non target areas saving you money and easier on the environment
Steep slopes, wet ground, gnarly terrain — a drone gets there without touching a thing. No wheel marks. No compaction. No waiting for ideal ground conditions.
Every square metre with RTK precision. Pest damage, patchy establishment, uneven coverage, weeds spotted and dealt to, and only the affected areas before it costs you.
Before anything flies, Nick has a yarn with you to understand what outcome you want to achieve. Sometimes the best way is a drone, sometimes it isn't.
To fully understand the situation a free site visit and mapping survey may be required, this includes assessment of landing site and access, airspace restrictions, obstacles and hazard assessment.
From there an estimate of cost or if required a quote for the job will be emailed for acceptance.
Nick turns up in his 4WD vehicle and fully self sufficient trailer with generators, starlink, clean water storage and full mixing station in tow. Conditions, terrain, what he spots from the air are monitored throughout the job. You’ll be kept in the loop if there’s anything of note.
If something off is spotted from the air, you hear about it. Nick doesn't just fly and leave. Things don’t always go to plan. Nick stands by his work, if there’s an issue rest assured he’ll be back to sort it.
Nick doesn't just turn up, fly, and leave. He works with you from the initial assessment through to completion — understanding what you're trying to achieve, adapting to the conditions on the day, and making sure the job's done right.
That might mean adjusting the application method mid-job, flagging something he's spotted from the air, or recommending a different approach altogether. You get a working partner, not just an operator flying in circles.
From weed spraying to standing crop applications — if ground machinery isn't an option, Nick flies it.
No crop damage. No wheel tracks. We fly over maize, kale, brassica, fodder beet, wheat, radish seed, canary seed, and winter crops — where ground machinery simply isn't an option.
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Fertiliser, slugbait, seed, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide and microminerals on pasture, maize, cereals, feed crops, specialty seeds with nil crop damage or tramlines in any ground conditions and any crop height.
Weed patches or targets can be mapped and identified from the air then uploaded to the spray drone with centimeter level RTK guidance, product goes where it’s needed with no wastage and in any terrain.
Whether it’s spraying vegetation on effluent pond crust or treating aquatic weeds the drone can reach places you can’t
Moss and mould treatments are handled with ease from the air, prevent damage to your roof and keep it looking schmick.
We are working on a program in Canterbury for regeneration of areas of unproductive land into native bush with minimal cost compared to traditional methods - if you’re interested in being part of the journey give us a yodel.
"Nick is at the forefront of drone technology and, coming from a farming background himself, he really gets what the agricultural industry needs. I used SkyTractor for spreading swede seed over a fodder beet crop with a low plant count and was very impressed with the results."
"I engaged Nick from SkyTractor to spray a problem area that was inaccessible by ground equipment, very happy with the result. I am looking forward to working with Nick on other possible services SkyTractor provides"
Not sure if drone work is right for your situation? That's exactly why Nick offers a free site assessment.
He'll come out, walk the land with you, and give you an honest answer.
No pressure. No jargon. Just a straight conversation about what'll work for your farm.