Efficiency & Performance from Goldacres G6 Sprayer

Published in Farm Weekly, 7th August 2025

Grass patch producers Leon Bowman (left) and son Ash (middle), pictured with McIntosh & Son Matt Shanhun (right), have added a Goldacres G6 Crop Cruiser Series 2 slef-propelled sprayer, with Bilberry camera technology to their farm machinery fleet.

Leon Bowman has entered a new era for spot spraying onfarm, with the arrival of a Goldacres G6 Crop Cruiser Series 2 self-propelled sprayer.

The Australian-made machine was delivered by McIntosh & Son Esperance – and added to the Bowman Farming fleet at Grass Patch — last month.

Despite not yet using the G6, Mr Bowman believes it will boost efficiency and performance across his 8000 hectare cropping program.

“We were previously running an earlier model Goldacres sprayer, but traded it in for this one,” he said.

“We wanted to upgrade the machine for the Bilberry camera technology and green-on-green weed detection spraying system.”

The G6 features a 36 metre boom, with nozzles staggered at 250 millimetres, and cameras fitted every three metres to detect weeds at spraying speeds of up to 20km/hour.

While the nozzles have a standard spacing of 500mm, the 250mm spacing is available with the Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) spray system, known as Hawkeye 2.0.

By using Bilberry spot spray technology – as opposed to blanket spraying — farmers can expect to save big money on chemicals.

“There are about 144 nozzles and each camera speaks to an individual nozzle,” Mr Bowman said.

“It cost a little bit more money to go with the 250mm spacing, but we wanted to target every weed, as efficiently as possible.”

Mr Bowman farms with his son Ash, and is assisted by two full-time employees and an extra set of hands at busier times of the year.

The father-and-son wrapped up a month-long seeding program in mid-May, and planted mostly wheat, canola and barley, with faba beans also in the rotation.

“We stuck to our usual plan and didn’t make any major changes,” Mr Bowman said.

“We dropped a decent amount of canola and peas from our program last year, after a dry start.

“This season was the best we’d had for canola in a long time, on the back of some decent rain in March-April.

“It hasn’t rained since though, we wouldn’t mind some more now.”

When Farm Weekly visited the Bowmans, they were keen to see more rain, before putting the G6 to use.

Mr Bowman wasn’t sure how much money was normally spent on summer spraying, and said it depended on rainfall.

Despite this, he expected the machine would pay for itself over time, particularly with the Bilberry camera system.

Bilberry technology uses artificial intelligence – the more the system is used, the better the weed detection algorithms.

With continuous imagery recordings, Bilberry can build a database of fields, crops and weeds to keep refining detection and increase accuracy and efficiency.

It has been labelled a “real game-changer” for using substantially less chemicals all year-round – and is one of the main reasons Mr Bowman invested in the Goldacres G6 Crop Cruiser Series 2.

“I started with a standard camera system, but was spraying a 2.5 metre section,” he said.

“However, by changing to the Hawkeye PWM system, we will be able to have control over individual nozzles, and operate with extreme accuracy.

“You don’t have to slow down or speed up to get the rate right, which is an added bonus.

“The pulse type system is one a lot of sprayers are using nowadays anyway.”

By using the Bilberry system, Mr Bowman can target hard-to-kill summer weeds like fleabane, marshmallow and status.

He will be able to give them a higher rate of chemicals, as opposed to knocking down with two lower rates.

McIntosh & Son, Esperance sales - eastern region, Matt Shanhun, said agricultural technology had moved in leaps and bounds - and the Hawkeye PWM system was a sign of this.

“It is also meant to be better for things like chemical resistance, and removing weeds from seed banks,” Mr Bowman said

“Not only that, but we won’t be having to fill the sprayer as much, which is handy and more labour efficient.

“Filling the sprayer is what usually costs us because it takes us away from the paddock.

“I also like that unlike other machines it has mechanical drive, instead of hydraulic – so hopefully it will last a little longer.

“It is good to see Goldacres have consulted with growers, and incorporated that feedback into their machinery.”

McIntosh & Son Esperance sales – eastern region Matt Shanhun said agricultural technology had moved in leaps and bounds – and the Hawkeye PWM system was a sign of this.

As far as spray systems go, Mr Shanhun described Hawkeye PWM as being the latest technology.

“The nozzle pulses and, depending on the settings, will do multiple times a second, which saves on chemicals,” he said.

“It is more targeted than a constant spray, but still gets that coverage.

“This means some farmers could save half of their chemical costs – so anywhere from $50,000-$200,000 per year.

“I think moving forward, the government will look at putting initiatives in place.

“That is where if farmers don’t use systems like this to minimise chemical usage, it will be harder to purchase certain chemicals.”

Mr Shanhun said the spot spray system was designed to only cover sections of the paddock where there are weeds.

While Bilberry camera technology has been available for about five years now, with continual developments to the crop algorithms.

This has been done with the help of farmers, to ensure it can spot the right weeds, at the right time, in the right crops.

“This system can spray green-on-brown easily, but it can also pick up green-on-green in crop spraying,” Mr Shanun said.

“The farmer can drive along in a wheat or canola crop, and know that the technology will pick up whatever weed they are targeting.

“In the past, they may have had to do a full-blanket spray, when they only really needed to cover 5pc of the crop.”

This is where the big savings come in – with a blanket spray, a farmer would have to fill up a tank to the top, with 6200L.

However, a spot spray could use, for example 1000L, which would last the entire day.

For more information on the Goldacres G6 sprayer, please contact the McIntosh & Son Esperance dealership.

McIntosh & Son is an authorised dealer for Goldacres and are available in Western Australia at our Esperance branch. McIntosh & Son can arrange delivery of pre-owned (used) machines anywhere in Australia. McIntosh & Son offers a comprehensive, friendly and professional one-stop shop service. We are committed to our customers and aim to provide easy and quick access to sales of new and used machines, quality service and parts.