SEKAD
Bourbon County ag drone business. Partners with another operator for spray applications.
Founded in 2024, SEKAD has built a Kansas aerial cover crop seeding practice covering Corn, Cotton and Soybeans. From a Fort Scott base, the crew covers Kansas growers inside the Great Plains region. Commercial drone applicators in Kansas need FAA Part 137 plus an aerial category endorsement on a state pesticide applicator license issued by Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA).
Operations are based in the Great Plains region.
Services offered
Crops serviced
Equipment used
States served (1)
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 SEKAD's service area:
- Kansas — Any commercial drone spray over Kansas fields needs No single aerial category. Use-specific categories (1A/1B/1C/1D, 2, 3A/3B, 5, 6, 7C/7D, 10), issued by Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA).
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 SEKAD's service area.
Frequently asked questions
Verifying SEKAD 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 Kansas the state credential is issued by Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA); 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 $12 to $22 per acre in the region usually breaks down into three lines: (1) included — calibration, GPS-guided flight planning, machine and pilot labor to fly the field, mixing and loading farmer-supplied product, and a Part 170-compliant application record; (2) excluded — the pesticide and any adjuvants, which the farmer supplies; (3) surcharges — long travel, after-hours, difficult terrain or obstruction-heavy fields, and minimum-acreage charges below a stated threshold. Spell out which of those land on your invoice before the operator schedules.