Meet Greg Land, Business Development Manager for Aerobotics Florida

After years of honing his expertise in citrus farming, Greg Land left his home in South Africa in the 1990s to further his career in Florida.

He has been working with this fruit-bowl staple ever since and today he adds value to growers with technology that optimizes farm production.

With Aerobotics tree counting, yield estimation, and tree health offerings, Greg provides the Florida citrus grower with more than one segment of tree analytics.

Let’s bring him in.

Hi, Greg, when did you join the team?

Greg: I joined Aerobotics back in late July 2018 to help launch and establish the company in Florida and the USA.

What is your role in the company today? Tell us a bit about what you do.

Greg: I am a Business Development Manager based in Vero Beach, Florida.

My job is to build relationships with growers, researchers, and other allied industry people, and educate them on how using high-tech tools like the Aerobotics platform can optimize their farms’ production.

We spend a lot of time working with our existing clients to help them get the most value out of their investment.

We also attend a lot of grower meetings, ag-industry conferences, and expos to promote the Aerobotics platform to all the tree crop farming regions around the USA.

Please tell us a bit about your background. What did you do before joining?

Greg: I was born and educated in South Africa. I graduated with a BSc in Horticulture, majoring in Citrus.

In my first job, I worked as an extension officer in the citrus industry based in Nelspruit, which is near the world-famous Kruger National Park. I moved into management and marketing after a few years, but have been lucky to spend a lot of my time working directly with citrus and other growers around the world.

In 1996, I moved to the USA and settled in Florida working for a citrus marketing company. I worked with Florida citrus growers, packers, and our customers, as well as running citrus import programs.

I have been involved in citrus and agricultural-related businesses pretty much all my work life.

It’s safe to say you’re an industry expert and veteran. Where do you currently call home?

Greg: My family and I live in Vero Beach, Florida, which is a small beach town on the East Coast.

Vero Beach is in the center of what was once the best grapefruit production area in the world until ‘greening disease’ arrived in the early 2000s — world-famous for ‘Indian River Grapefruit’.

How does Aerobotics technology benefit the Florida grower?

Greg: With the time for ‘2020 tree and crop insurance submissions fast approaching, Aerobotics is providing Florida citrus growers with tree counts at 97%+ accuracy, missing tree counts, plus other tree metrics and GPS locations of all trees.

When it comes to getting accurate tree counts, missing trees, and tree metrics, we save growers time, hassle, and money.

Since launching at the Citrus Expo in mid-August 2018, we have processed and provided tree count data and other analytics for more than 55,000 acres in Florida. This includes multiple large Florida growers and some of the large insurance AIPs as clients for all their tree counts and metrics.

Amazing achievements! What makes Aerobotics’ tree counts so valuable to Florida growers?

Greg: In working with our growers here, we have found a number of ways that our technology helps Florida growers manage their groves more efficiently, save time reduce inefficient spending, and achieve accurate ‘tree counts’.

Our accurate Tree Census makes preparing growers’ next crop insurance submission a slam dunk. There is no guessing with 97%+ accuracy and a digital record that will stand up as verifiable proof with Uncle Sam.

Missing tree counts are critical information for strategic planning and simplifying ordering nursery trees for resets.

Our software offers in-depth tree metrics on two different levels. This helps with the preparation of insurance submissions by tree age groups and provides vital information about groves and trees on multiple levels.

Lastly, our latest Yield Estimation product for citrus helps growers to refine their crop estimates.

Without accurate data on your trees, by variety, size, age, and health, then how do you do any forward planning?

Thanks for that breakdown, Greg. With so many exciting projects going on, what are you most looking forward to at the company?

Greg: I am excited to be part of the new frontier of providing cutting-edge technology to make growers’ lives easier.

I love it when I see the light switch on in growers’ eyes when they see how our technology can help them. Having them as happy clients makes it all worthwhile.

Now we’d like to know a bit about what makes you tick. What can you be found doing in your spare time?

Greg: I like to spend time with my wife and two teenage sons. If the weather is good we like to get out on the water or beach and do some fishing — from stalking wild trout in cold mountain streams, to chasing giant sharks and tarpon on the beach.

If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be and why?

Greg: That is a tough question. In addition to my wife, there are a bunch of people I would enjoy having dinner with, hanging out with, and learning from.

We feel very lucky to have someone who is so passionate about the industry and working with clients to provide a positive and profitable experience.

Here’s to our future growing the Florida agriculture industry with Greg Land!

Get in touch with Greg Land to learn more about our solutions for Florida growers.