Spartan Ag Drones LLC
Eastern Iowa aerial application service. Founded by husband-wife team from corporate finance/accounting backgrounds. Also carries a smaller drone for surveillance.
Spartan Ag Drones LLC is a Iowa drone applicator covering drone pesticide and fungicide spraying, aerial cover crop seeding and dry granular spreading on row crops grown in the region in the Corn Belt region. From a Eastern Iowa base, the crew covers Iowa growers inside the Corn Belt region. Commercial drone applicators in Iowa need FAA Part 137 plus an aerial category endorsement on a state pesticide applicator license issued by IDALS.
Operations are based in the Corn Belt region.
Services offered
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 Spartan Ag Drones LLC's service area:
- Iowa: requires Category 11 (Aerial Application) for aerial pesticide application; the licensing authority is IDALS.
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 Spartan Ag Drones LLC's service area.
Frequently asked questions
Verifying Spartan Ag Drones LLC 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 Iowa the state credential is issued by IDALS; 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 breaks into three lines. You pay for the flying. That covers calibration, GPS-guided flight planning, the labor to fly the field and the mixing and loading of your product. It also covers the Part 170 record the law requires. You supply the pesticide and any adjuvants. Then come the extras: long travel, after-hours work, hard terrain and a minimum charge on a small field. Ask which of those land on your invoice before the operator schedules.