Jackson Boardman

With a strong practical foundation from growing up on avocado farms, combined with a deep interest in ag-tech innovation, Jackson Boardman will study how to integrate drones into horticultural tree crop systems.

Hailing from Ravensbourne, South-East Queensland, Jackson operates his own drone-based spraying service, Sunspray, and is managing his family farming operation of around 6000 trees at Sunnyspot Farms.

Jackson says avocado growers face increasing pressure from labour shortages, rising input costs and the need to improve productivity and fruit quality due to growing oversupply issues and the need to meet export demands.

With traditional spraying and monitoring methods proving time-consuming, inconsistent and often wasteful, Jackson is looking to the skies for a unique opportunity to address the issues with precision, efficiency and real-time data insights.

He said there is a lack of clear, crop-specific best practice frameworks, especially for complex orchard systems within horticulture. Jackson is hopeful that drone technology can impact spraying, canopy management, tree health, irrigation optimisation and possibly pollination.

His research will explore how drones are already incorporated into everyday operations within different global contexts. This will help Australian growers adopt the technology while maximising return on investment across tree crop systems.

Jackson’s study aligns closely with the Avocado Industry’s strategic goals around innovation, sustainability, and productivity. With practical experience using DJI drones as well as traditional ground-based sprayers, he brings both technical knowledge and real-world insight to the table.

He plans to travel domestically, as well as to China, New Zealand, India, the USA, Spain, South Korea, Chile and Mexico.