A "program" isn't a prescription — it's a default you adjust with scouting. Below are the passes most Midwest operations plan around, and where a drone earns its keep.
Corn
- Burndown/pre-emerge — residual herbicide at/near planting. Ground or air; volume-heavy, often ground.
- Post herbicide (V4–V8) — the label's stage/height cutoff rules. Drone works well on wet or hilly fields.
- Fungicide VT–R1 — the drone pass. Canopy is closed, ground rigs cause damage, and timing is everything.
- Rescue insecticide — only to threshold (rootworm beetle at pollination, armyworm outbreaks).
Soybeans
- Burndown + residual pre-plant, especially with marestail/waterhemp pressure.
- Post herbicide (V3–R1) — respect the flowering cutoff.
- Fungicide R3 (white mold decisions at R1) — again the classic drone window.
- Aphid/insect pass to threshold, often tank-mixed with the R3 fungicide when justified.
Wheat
- Fall/spring herbicide at tillering–jointing.
- Fungicide at flag leaf for foliar disease, and anthesis for head scab — a tight, weather-driven window drones hit well.
- PGR where lodging is a risk, timed precisely by stage.
Specialty & other
Orchards/vineyards: repeated protectant fungicide sprays; drones help on slopes and wet ground, though canopy penetration in dense trellis needs testing. Pasture/hay: broadleaf herbicide in spring; drones handle rough, wet, or steep ground rigs can't. Cover crops: aerial seeding into standing crop — see cover crop seeding.
Building your own program
- Start from last year's records: what pressure showed up, and when.
- Lock the two or three passes that reliably pay on your farm.
- Leave the rest as scouted decisions with thresholds.
- Assign each pass to ground or air based on timing risk and field conditions.
General Midwest patterns — adjust to your region, hybrids, and current extension guidance. Timing tools: growth stages, fungicide timing.
Want it flown for you?
FactorDrones holds a commercial FAA Part 107 unmanned aircraft license; our pesticide applicator license (and FAA Part 137) are in progress. Reserve a price now and we’ll fly when fully cleared — or keep learning.