The most advanced hazardous inversion sensing technology in the world was developed by Australia’s cotton and grain industries.
The WAND (Weather and Networked Data) system can distinguish a hazardous surface temperature inversion from a non-hazardous one in real-time, as well as give users an accurate two or 24-hour forecast to their onset and end. It has the capability of not only helping alleviate off-target sprays but also opening up the spray window in comparison to using traditional inversion detection approaches.
WAND has been a ground-up build, both scientifically and structurally, with the aim of giving crop managers the ability to detect hazardous inversions, a leading cause of spray drift – in part because they can be difficult to detect.
From the science aspect, it has involved building prototypes, gathering data, modelling, developing and trialling software and testing its efficacy. Physically, it has involved designing and physically putting together each component in a workshop in Goondiwindi (Bigambul country) in regional Queensland, building each 10 metre tower, and travelling across the country erecting them.
WAND is the result of blue-sky thinking and collaboration between R&D and commercial technology providers, and is only available to Australian cotton and grains farmers.
Initially developed with support from the Grains Research and Development Corporation and CRDC in collaboration with Goanna Ag, WAND is now operated by Goanna Ag, who are working to continuously build the usability of the product that the company has become known for through its other range of products.
With the WAND network now built and operational, Goanna CEO Jay Jalota says Goanna are now focused on WAND’s usability and new features for people planning and carrying out spray operations.
He says the greatest outcome of WAND is the hazardous inversion alerts which have opened up additional spray window opportunities compared to traditional inversions.
“The biggest benefit of the underlying science and work of the cotton and grains industry is that is has opened up an additional four hours per day of additional safe spray time,” Jay says.
“It’s not just about knowing when a hazardous inversion starts – of equal value is knowing when it will stop, so there is no time wasted getting back in the field.
“The comparisons we ran on WAND versus traditional inversion monitors were an eye-opener, as there were assumptions around the type, timing and duration of inversions. Through WAND we’ve taken the guesswork out of that.”
Since launching in December 2022, over 3800 WAND customers have gained access to 102 weather towers. Sixty per cent of cotton growers who use WAND have reported making a change to their spray application as a result.
“As growers become aware of WAND’s capabilities we have seen increases in usage especially in the summer months, which has doubled from one summer to the next,” Jay said.
“Not only has the number of people using it increased, so has their frequency of use.”
The investment to develop, build, install and manage the WAND network was provided by GRDC and CRDC. This investment is approaching completion and Goanna Ag now need to create a sustainable business model to maintain and further develop the platform. That includes a new subscription option, which went live in November.
Importantly, access to the key functionality of WAND remains free: the real-time weather data, the detection of the presence or absence of hazardous inversions, and the ‘nowcast’ prediction within the coming two hours.
Growers and spray contractors who wish to access additional features – additional WAND towers, 24-hour hazardous inversion forecasts, rain and humidity, long-term searchable history and future enhancements such as text message alerts around hazardous inversion status – can purchase an annual subscription for $249.
As a limited introductory offer, subscribers who choose the paid option will be eligible for a $500 credit against the purchase of a new Goanna Ag weather station for orders placed by January 31, 2025.
CRDC’s Innovation Broker Susan Maas has welcomed the new features and the subscription service.
“This is a crucially important step forward for WAND as it transitions from being research and development supported by GRDC and CRDC, to a commercialised product delivered by Goanna Ag for the benefit of the grains and cotton industries,” Susan said.
“Ensuring it is self-sustaining means vital research and development levy funds can be reinvested by GRDC and CRDC in important new projects for growers.
“WAND is world-leading technology available only to Australian farmers, which is a significant achievement for our industries and Goanna Ag.”
Farm manager Steve Klowss says all his staff have the WAND app on their phones and are well-versed in using it, along with his aerial spraying contractors in Mungindi, North West NSW (Kamilaroi country).
Steve (pictured) manages ‘Strathguyle’ for Evolution Farming, which has a WAND tower on the property. It’s used with a Goanna Ag weather station and in-built weather stations in spray rigs to mainly track wind speed and direction. The key tool is the WAND tower though, Steve says, having been hit by some serious drift events.
“We were all for putting a tower up here because in the 2022-23 season we got drifted about seven times – it was shocking, we thought we would have to plough it out,” he said.
“We averaged 11.5 bales when others around us were seeing 15 to 17.”
The hazardous inversion forecast has made planning spraying jobs and organising staff easier to manage.
“The boys can get on the app and check the conditions and the inversion forecast,” Steve said.
“We aim to pull up an hour before a hazardous inversion is forecast to start, so even the two-hour nowcast allows us to potentially mix up half a tank and get it out in plenty of time prior to the forecasted time.
“Using the WAND forecast saves us time, and you know when you can spray for sure, we know what time we can mix up a load and spray in the right conditions.”
Steve’s spray rig drivers also keep a manual log of conditions taken from WAND, along with the on-board weather data.
“WAND has been really useful, especially in winter when we are spraying dryland,” Steve said.
“We’ve been drifted badly don’t want to do it to others.
“And it’s not just about using it with herbicides, it has a place when using insecticides.
“Using WAND has makes us more aware. We always knew that there was a risk of inversion any time of the day, but now we have the information at hand to tell us for sure.”
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2024-25 edition of CRDC's Spotlight magazine. Subscribe here.
