Wilbur-Ellis’s application business currently covers approximately 5 million acres annually. The company stated that Guardian Ag’s fully electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) systems will support Wilbur-Ellis’s aerial operations business throughout its large share of the aerial application market by adding eVTOL aircraft to its current helicopter and fixed-wing fleets.

Wilbur-Ellis said the partnership will allow its customers to access Guardian Ag’s fully autonomous aerial application aircraft system before anyone else. Guardian Ag says its eVTOL aircraft system can safely and securely deliver precision application of crop protection in a timely and cost-effective manner. According to the company, the autonomous aircraft can carry multi-hundred-pound payloads, apply a wide range of application spray volumes and cover 40 acres per hour of full-field crop protection.

“This is the first new aerial technology to make a material impact on American farms,” said Mike Wilbur, CEO of Cavallo Ventures at Wilbur-Ellis. “We believe it can be profitably and rapidly deployed and are looking forward to working with Guardian Ag to roll out their technology to our customers and partners.”

Guardian’s eVTOL system has four 6-foot propellers and an overall 15-foot aircraft width. Designed and manufactured in the U.S. and combining an autonomous aircraft, a ground station supercharger and software generating domestically stored data, the eVTOL systems use industry-standard nozzles, pressure, droplet sizes and application volumes to deliver on-target applications to fields.

With in-flight monitoring, measurement and data collection capabilities, application variables are collected in real-time, including wind speed, temperature, obstructions and more. Coupled with pre-planned flight plans, designated spray boundaries and spray rates, Guardian says its eVTOL systems will significantly reduce application errors by providing superior spray quality with reduced environmental and economic risk impacts. Additionally, eVTOL systems are 100 percent electric and capable of reducing emissions exponentially compared to traditional application methods.

“We are excited to make an early investment in this technology … and we’re even more excited to partner with Guardian to commercialize it and bring it to our customers,” John Kuhn, director of business development at Wilbur-Ellis, said.

Both companies have worked together over the last year to commercialize and bring American growers advanced technology that will have immediate positive impacts on their business.

Guardian’s regulatory approval process is well underway, with commercialization and availability to growers occurring in 2023.

The Salinas Valley of California is being eyed for the potential first deployment of the eVTOL aircraft in 2023. “When we get the product in our hands, we’re going to use them on the more risky, hard-to-apply and sensitive areas in the Salinas Valley,” said Willie Negroni, director of sales at Wilbur-Ellis Agribusiness.

For larger areas, Wilbur-Ellis plans to have multiple eVTOL machines on a trailer to cover a field.