What drone crop spraying actually is
Use cases, strengths, and honest limits vs. ground rigs and manned aircraft.
Coming soonWhether you're hiring us or building your own operation, here's the full body of knowledge: FAA certification, pesticide licensing in all 50 states, application science, safety, agronomy, and the business behind it.
New here? Start with “Start Here”, then the two licensing tracks: FAA and state pesticide.
In-depth guides with live calculators, diagrams, and clickable graphics. Start here.
The full cert path with an interactive progress tracker & cost estimator.
Open the interactive guide →Two-track diagram + a searchable directory of all 50 state agencies.
Open the interactive guide →Live GPA, swath-overlap, and tank-load tools you can actually use.
Open the interactive guide →Interactive droplet-size, inversion, and buffer-zone tools.
Open the interactive guide →Model revenue, profit, margin, and payback for your acreage.
Open the interactive guide →A clickable label — tap each part to learn what it legally means.
Open the interactive guide →Instant, mobile-friendly calculators for the field — no signup, no math on the tailgate.
Built from a real 3-year drone-business model and SBA loan plan — every calculator is live.
Contribution-margin and break-even calculator seeded with a real model.
Open the interactive guide →Interactive year-by-year waterfall from revenue down to net income.
Open the interactive guide →Live DSCR gauge + loan payment calculator with interest-only ramp.
Open the interactive guide →Why profit isn't cash — an inventory-turn tool shows the gap.
Open the interactive guide →Slide the raise from $50k–$150k and watch the allocation scale.
Open the interactive guide →Ten tracks covering the whole job. Filter to jump straight to what you need.
The lay of the land before you spend a dollar: what spray drones do, whether to hire or own, and the real economics.
Use cases, strengths, and honest limits vs. ground rigs and manned aircraft.
Coming soonDecision framework: acreage, seasons worked, capital, and time before it pays off.
Coming soonCost per acre, break-even acres, utilization, and realistic first-year ROI.
Coming soonEvery license, document, and piece of gear you need before your first paid acre.
Coming soonEverything the FAA requires to fly a spraying UAS commercially. This is the aviation half of the license.
The base commercial drone license. Study, exam, and 24-month renewal.
Open ↗Spray drones over 55 lb use paper Part 47 registration.
Open ↗A Class 3 medical is typically required for Part 137 ag operations.
Open ↗Exemption from the 55 lb limit for heavy ag drones — safety case + operating docs.
Open ↗The core ag-aircraft certificate for dispensing chemicals by drone.
Open ↗Operating limitations, congested-area plans, and knowledge/skill checks.
Open ↗Controlled-airspace approvals, waivers, and where you can legally fly.
Open ↗What Remote ID is and how it applies to your aircraft.
Open ↗Advanced ops many spray operators eventually need.
Open ↗Flight logs, maintenance, and staying inspection-ready.
Coming soonThe chemistry half of the license. Flying legally is not enough — you must be a certified applicator in every state you spray.
The universal safety/label/law exam behind every state certification.
Open ↗Which category you need — spraying others' fields for hire vs. your own.
Open ↗The category exam that authorizes aerial (drone) application.
Coming soonMany states also license the business and require proof of insurance.
Coming soonCEUs and renewal cycles that keep your certification active.
Coming soonJump to the full 50-state pathway list further down this page.
Open →The label is the law — and the physics of getting product on target without drift is where operators win or lose.
The single most important legal document in the job. Rates, PPE, restrictions.
Open the guide →Rotating chemistries so weeds, bugs, and disease don't outrun you.
Coming soonWhat each class does and when it goes on.
Coming soonSurfactants, drift reducers, mixing order, and compatibility jar tests.
Coming soonGPA, swath, flow rate, and hitting the labeled rate every time.
Open the guide →Atomizer selection and the coverage-vs-drift tradeoff.
Coming soonKeeping product off the neighbor's beans, water, and pollinators.
Open the guide →Reading wind, humidity, and inversions before you launch.
Coming soonChoosing, running, and maintaining the aircraft and its spray system.
Comparing ag platforms (DJI Agras, XAG, Hylio and others) by tank, flow, and support.
Open ↗The spray system, plus granular spreader kits for seeding.
Coming soonLiPo logistics, generators, and keeping birds in the air all day.
Coming soonHow centimeter-level positioning eliminates gaps and overlaps.
Coming soonDaily checks and a maintenance rhythm that prevents field failures.
Coming soonMix/load station, water, and a repeatable field workflow.
Coming soonTurning a field boundary into a safe, efficient, fully-covered application.
Boundaries, power lines, trees, and no-spray zones.
Coming soonRoute/swath planning and following rolling ground.
Coming soonRunning two or more aircraft safely and legally.
Coming soonLoader, spotter, and pilot working as one team.
Coming soonKeeping mix supplied without becoming the bottleneck.
Coming soonTiming is the difference between a pass that pays and one that doesn't.
Deciding whether a field even needs spraying.
Coming soonRecognizing the target before you treat it.
Coming soonR3 fungicide, herbicide windows, and staying on the label's stage.
Coming soonWhen the pest pressure justifies the pass.
Coming soonCorn, soybean, wheat, and specialty-crop playbooks.
Coming soonInterseeding and broadcast seeding as a second revenue line.
Coming soonChemicals plus aircraft plus batteries. Respect all three.
What the label requires and how to actually wear it in July heat.
Coming soonThe highest-exposure moments of the day, done right.
Coming soonStorage, charging, and what to do when one goes wrong.
Coming soonHauling product and fuel legally and safely.
Coming soonStaying sharp and ready when something goes sideways.
Coming soonThe rules that protect water, pollinators, workers, and your license.
Timing and buffers that keep bees out of the spray.
Open ↗Checking ESA use limitations before you apply.
Open ↗Requirements when workers are near treated fields.
Open ↗Extra rules and records for restricted products.
Coming soonWhat to log for every application, and for how long.
Coming soonTurning a certificate and a drone into a durable operation.
The coverage stack ag-drone operators actually carry.
Coming soonSetting a per-acre rate and protecting yourself on paper.
Open the guide →Filling the schedule in a short spray season.
Coming soonGoing from one aircraft to a crew.
Coming soonProof of coverage that wins repeat business.
Coming soonTo apply pesticides by drone you need both FAA authority (Part 137) and state applicator certification — usually the CORE exam plus an aerial/agricultural category. Every state's official regulatory agency is linked below (via the EPA/NPIC directory). Start there for exact exams, manuals, fees, and CEU rules.
State agency links via the NPIC State Pesticide Regulatory Agencies directory (an EPA / Oregon State cooperative). See also EPA — How to Get Certified and EPA — State & Territorial Pesticide Agencies. Requirements change — always confirm with your state agency and the FAA.
Skip the paperwork — we’ll handle the flying once our licensing clears (in progress now). Building your own operation? Gear up.