With our aerial spreader, you can spread seed and dry materials anywhere a drone can fly.
Seed over challenging ground conditions
This seeder will spread seed and other dry materials anywhere a drone can fly. Steep and rocky terrain, downed trees from a tornado or woodland restoration, wet or icy ground, and standing field crops are no problem for this spreader. The Aerial Spreader is a drone-mounted seeder invented by Hamilton Native Outpost and an aviation expert and engineer. This tool can spread a variety of dry materials from seed and fish food to salt on roads to confetti at weddings.
Developing a drone seeder
Seeding a savanna restoration or silvopasture by hand is a lot of work! We’ve walked hundreds of miles flinging seed from a bucket nestled under one arm. So, we began dreaming about seeding these areas aerially by using a drone.
Built for native seeds
We knew there would be challenges in developing this new technology, especially considering the fluffy, native grass seed it would have to be capable of spreading. After several experiments and dozens of prototypes we were ready for our first field test.
Field tests
First, we seeded a mix of fluffy native grass and dense wildflower seed over the top of the trees in some savanna restorations. We spread mixes that were designed for the wet and dry soil areas. Then we spread the miniature-BB-like seeds of a cover crop over the top of standing corn. When a rainy day made the soil too wet for a tractor, we used the Aerial Spreader instead.
Going where a tractor could not
In all of these situations, the Aerial Spreader distributed seed where the tractor could not. However, even in sites where a tractor could spread seed, the Aerial Spreader could do as much work in one day as the tractor. The Aerial Spreader had worked well in all of these test seeding projects, and subsequent modifications made it even better. We applied for a patent and, in 2020, this product became available for purchase.