Implementing a Spraying Drone Into Your Farm in 2025

Agricultural spraying drones have become increasingly popular in rural America from their inception 10 years ago. Portability, precision and affordability have pushed their adoption by US farms, and helped generate millions of dollars in savings and yield boosts. In this article, we’re gonna dive into the world of spraying drones, why they are beneficial, what licenses are required, how they work, models available, pricing and more. Read on below.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Ag Spraying Drones
2. Why Spray Drones?
3. What Licenses Do You Need to Operate It?
4. Spray Applications
5. Spreading Applications
6. Specialty Use Applications
7. How Does the Drone Operation Work?
8. Choosing A Drone Model
9. Financing Your Drone
10. Additional Equipment
11. Insurance
12. Mapping Drones
13. Useful Software
14. What comes with a drone package?
15. Owning an Ag Sprayer Drone

Introduction to Ag Spraying Drones

Agricultural spraying drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with spray systems designed to apply insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, and other crop treatments efficiently. These drones are revolutionizing modern farming by offering precision spraying solutions that minimize chemical waste, reduce labor costs, and improve crop yields. 

Why Spray Drones?

Ag drones have steadily grown and improved year-over-year. Current traditional spraying methods like ground rigs, backpack sprayers and helicopters or airplanes face several challenges that can be overcome by a drone sprayer. Here are some of them:

• Small and irregular fields: drones can easily maneuver and spray fields of any shape, size or slope, and it’s the only aerial available tool for small plots.
• Post rain accessibility: drones can spray wet fields
• Lack of precision: drone spraying technology creates a vortex-like pattern, effectively pushing down chemicals into crops, enabling precise application
• Missed application window: drones are readily available to be used for spraying, regardless of weather conditions.
• Soil compaction and crop damage: Since drones are aerial, there’s no compaction or damage
• Chemical drift and waste: a sprayer drone’s method of application allows for precision, minimizing waste and drastically reducing drift
• Operator safety: in June of 2024 the FAA released a statement stating that UAV operations present a lower risk than other certificated operations. Drones also reduce human error since they fly mostly autonomously.
• Labor shortage: drones help ease the US farm labor shortage, with young adults coming back to family farms, and new small businesses being formed.
• High aerial application cost: drones offer the lowest aerial application cost on the market.
• Specialty applications: has a myriad of specialty applications available that wouldn’t be feasible or economically viable with traditional equipment

What Licenses Do You Need to Operate It?

The biggest challenge to operating a spraying drone has nothing to do with flying the drone itself. Since drones are categorized as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), the FAA regulates its operation in the US National Airspace System (NAS). Drones weighing less than 55lbs have different requirements than drones weighing more than 55lbs. In this section we’ll focus on drones that weigh more than 55lbs since most sprayer drones available today fall into this category.

#1: FAA 3rd Class Medical Certificate

As of late 2024, the 3rd Class Medical Certificates are no longer a requirement for operating a spray drone during daytime in autonomous mode. However, as a commercial or private applicator, we highly recommend you obtain this to spray at night and maximize your opportunities. 

To get a medical certificate, you’ll need to be certified by an FAA certified Aviation Medical Examiner (AME).

For a complete guide on how to obtain your 3rd Class Medical you can click here, and in this link you’ll find information on eligibility for this certificate.

#2: FAA Part 107: Remote Pilot Certificate

This certificate confirms your knowledge of the regulations, operational requirements, and procedures necessary for safely operating drones.

• Must be at least 16 years old and pass the Unmanned Aircraft General – Small (UAG) exam.

If you need more information on Part 107, make sure to check out complete guide.

#3: Register Your Drone with the FAA

Drones weighing more than 55lbs need to be registered with the FAA. Registration must be done by mailing several documents to the FAA.

Also, to register, you must meet one of the following criteria:

• Be a U.S. citizen.
• Be a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
• Be a foreign-owned corporation legally established under U.S. or state laws, provided the aircraft is primarily based and operated in the U.S.
• Be a government entity within the United States.

After processing your documents, the FAA will mail you a Certificate of Aircraft Registration containing the aircraft’s N number.

#4: File a 44807 Petition for Exemption

Drones weighing 55 pounds or more are regulated under 14 CFR Part 91 and require exemptions from certain provisions in 14 CFR Parts 61, 91, and 137.

You can find previously approved petitions here.

#5: Request an Agricultural Aircraft Operator Certificate (AAOC)

After receiving your approved exemptions, you can apply for your Operator Certificate. 

#6: Receive Your Part 137 Certificate

Processing takes 2-10 weeks after all documents are verified. This wraps up initial FAA requirements.

#7: State Pesticide License

Every state has Pesticide Applicator License requirements. Some states need an aerial endorsement while others have the same requirements for ground and aerial application. We’ve compiled a list of ag departments for each State below. Click on the State(s) you intend to operate in to find more information:

American territories:

Puerto Rico | American Samoa | Guam | Northern Marina Islands | Virgin Islands

Spray Applications

Drones can spray a variety of crops, with most applications falling between 0.5-3.0 gal/acre. While you can spray at higher rates, the drone would not be as efficient. Insecticides and fungicides on row crop, and wet field burn down would be the main uses for a sprayer drone, similar to a crop duster.

Drones are not meant to compete with herbicide applications, except where you can apply at ultra-low volume. Spot spraying and wet field herbicide are also great options.

Spreading Applications

Sprayer drones also have many dry spreading applications. Some of those applications include:

• Cover crop overseeding
• Spot fertilizer
• Wildflower
• Beneficial insects

Specialty Use Applications

When you think of drones, it’s important to think outside the box. Due to its size and versatility, these machines are great tools for lots of different applications. For example: 

• Vineyards
• Orchards
• Fruits & vegetables
• Hemp
• Pasture management
• Wetland management
• Mountainous terrain
• Mosquito control
• Turf farms
• Golf courses
• Forestry & conservation

How Does the Drone Operation Work?

Operating a drone is fairly simple. Most of our clients learn it with just one day of operations training. Here’s how you would operate it step-by-step:

1. Map your field: map your field and determine boundaries with the remote.
2. Setup your generator, mixing tank, pumps, hoses and reels: set everything up before starting to operate
3. Input flight parameters: speed, height, direction, starting point, application rate.
4. Map obstacles: map any known obstacles so the drone can easily maneuver over them
5. Press take off: drone will take off and start spraying
6. Return to Home: drone will return to home when the tank is empty
7. Refill and replace: refill the tank and replace a battery, press take off again and drone will continue operation
8. Repeat 5-7: continuously repeat this cycle until done with the field.

Becoming a good pilot takes time and practice, though with the right foundation and training you’ll be well on your way to mastering drone spraying and achieving greater productivity.

Choosing A Drone Model

Choosing a drone depends on your budget and desired use. Though there are many brands on the market, we continue to believe DJI has the best drones available. While XAG’s drones offer more productivity and larger payloads, DJI Agras drones come with a very user-friendly interface, allowing even non tech-savvy farmers to operate it efficiently, and at lower price points. Let’s look at the 3 main sprayer drones offered by DJI:

Advantages of T50 over T40

Though the specs are very similar, the AGRAS T50 does have advantages over the AGRAS T40, mainly:

• Larger radar with a set of binocular sensors, which greatly improves obstacle sensing and obstacle avoidance
• Improved spray lances with the addition of a solenoid valve ensure there’s no leaks and drift
• Enhanced Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)
• A larger pump that allows for higher flow rate, specially for orchard applications
• Slightly larger dry tank volume. or

Financing Your Drone

Most new businesses in this space require north of $100k in capital to start depending on how many drones you buy, if you’ll need a new vehicle or not and if you intend to buy a trailer. Regardless of what you decide, financing can be a great tool to reduce your cash outlay. AckerSpray has partnered with APPROVE to provide easy and fast financing for ag drone operators throughout the US. Learn more about APPROVE here.

Additional Equipment

Operating a spraying drone requires additional equipment for a successful operation. Here’s a list of some requirements:

• Holding tanks and/or totes
• Induction and/or mixing tanks
• Pumps
• Hoses and hose reel
• Generators (if you haven’t purchased with your drone kit)
• Truck
• Trailer

Please, note that some trailers may already come with all of this equipment. Make sure to do your own due diligence before committing to any trailers or other equipment.

Insurance

Insurance is critical in this business. From chemical liability to drift and hull, you’ll want to be insured (it’s likely a requirement in your state as well). We have a few recommendations from our customers here.

Mapping Drones

Mapping drones can greatly enhance your Agras drone operation. For instance, with a DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral drone you can map your fields quickly, scan and analyze crops, and find accurate and precise health crop information. Pairing a Mavic 3M with a DJI Agras drone also enables variable-rate application, which reduces chemical waste and application costs. If you’re in need of search and rescue, or livestock management, a thermal drone like the Mavic 3 Thermal or the Matrice 30 Thermal can do those things. Thermal drones can also identify illnesses and distress from above without disturbing the herd.

Useful Software

If you’re looking for more advanced mission planning or data analysis software, here are some great recommendations:

• DJI Terra: The DJI Terra software comes free with the purchase of any DJI Agras drone for the 1st year. 
• DJI Smartfarm: free for any DJI Agras drone, though very limited.
• Other mission planning software: the main options here are:
  • Agremo: powerful field analytics platform
  • Pix4D: offers many applications for drone spraying operators
  • Solvi: analyze whole fields at the plant level
• Flight logs: Drone Logbook and CropFlight Logbook are both great options to track flights and sprayed fields, as well as ongoing compliance management and billing integration

What comes with a drone package?

Here’s what comes with AckerSpray’s AGRAS T50 Flagship Package:

• Fully assembled DJI AGRAS T50 Drone w/ Remote Control and Liquid Tank

• 3x AGRAS T50 Intelligent Flight Battery
• C8000W Intelligent Charger

• DJI AGRAS T50 Spreading System

• 2x Extra AGRAS T50 Remote Batteries
• DJI AGRAS T50 Remote Battery charger
• DJI AGRAS T50 Remote Battery Charger Hub

• Westinghouse WGen14500c Generator

• DJI Extension Cord Kit
• DJI AGRAS T50 Full-set of Propellers

• AckerSpray’s Hands-On, Comprehensive Training

• AckerSpray’s UAV Compliance Consulting package

Owning an Ag Sprayer Drone

4 steps to owning your own spray drone from AckerSpray:

Step 1: Get an Official Quote

Get an official drone quote on our website, customizable to your needs.

Step 2: Get an Invoice

Once you’ve received your quote and you’re ready to move forward, request an invoice with payment instructions.

Step 3: Get Legal

After purchasing your drone, our compliance manager will assist you with obtaining all the required licenses for operation.

Step 4: Get Trained

We’ll provide you with comprehensive, hands-on training to make sure you’re comfortable and confident with your investment. After training, you’re ready to fly and spray!

Final Thoughts

Integrating a spray drone into your farming operations can be a game-changer, offering unparalleled precision, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. As technology continues to advance, these drones are becoming indispensable tools for modern agriculture, helping farmers tackle challenges such as labor shortages, environmental concerns, and the need for sustainable practices. By investing in a spray drone, you not only enhance your farm's productivity but also position yourself at the forefront of agricultural innovation. With the right training and compliance measures in place, the transition to drone-assisted farming can be smooth and rewarding, paving the way for a more prosperous and sustainable future. Don't hesitate to reach out to us at AckerSpray if you have any questions or request a quote today.