Dropcopter
World's first drone pollination service · 25 to 50% yield increase
Stated by the operator, not checked by us
World's first commercial drone pollination service, founded 2017 in Syracuse, NY by Adam Fine and Matt Koball. Custom hexacopter fleet of 6 drones covers 40 acres/hour. Third-party studies show 25 to 50% yield increase. Won $500K Grow-NY prize and $250K GENIUS NY investment. First commercial apple pollination at Beak and Skiff orchard.
Operations are based in the Southeast region.
Services offered
Pricing context for the crops Dropcopter services
Typical 2026 per-acre rates for drone spraying by crop, based on US ag drone industry data. Contact the operator for a quote on your specific fields.
- Drone spraying for orchards$20 to $35 per acre
- Drone spraying for grapes / vineyards$18 to $30 per acre
Crops serviced
Certifications & compliance
The operator told us each of these. Anything we matched against a public record is shown with the date we checked it, at the top of this page.
States served (2)
Aerial pesticide licensing in states served
Every state requires a pesticide applicator license with the aerial category endorsement on top of FAA Part 137. The agencies that issue these licenses in Dropcopter's service area:
- New York — aerial pesticide work runs through New York State DEC under Category 11: Aerial Application.
- California — requires CDPR Unmanned Pest Control Aircraft Pilot Certificate for aerial pesticide application; the licensing authority is CDPR (CalEPA).
Full agency, exam and renewal-cycle details by state are catalogued on the state pesticide licensing reference.
Verify and resources
Primary-source references for verifying credentials and looking up state-specific rules in Dropcopter's service area.
Frequently asked questions
Verifying Dropcopter runs through three independent checks: Part 107 via the FAA Airmen Inquiry, Part 137 via the issuing FAA Flight Standards office, and the state aerial-category pesticide applicator license via the receiving state's department of agriculture. In New York the state credential is issued by New York State DEC; you can ask the operator for the applicator license number and verify it with the agency directly. Pair that with a current chemical-drift COI and the Section 44807 exemption number for due diligence.
Typical drone spraying rates of $18 to $35 per acre in the region typically covers the application itself: drone calibration, GPS-guided mission planning, mixing and loading product into the tank, the labor and machine time to fly the field, and a written FIFRA Part 170 application record (date, time, product, EPA reg number, rate, weather, field ID). Pesticide product, surfactants and adjuvants are usually supplied by the farmer and excluded from the per-acre rate. Common surcharges include long travel past the operator's standard radius, after-hours or emergency turnaround, fields with steep terrain or significant obstructions, and minimum-acreage charges below a stated field size. Get inclusions and exclusions in writing before any application.