Dayton, WY
Family-owned drone spraying service. Five generations of ag experience. Operates 5 drones. Key contracts with Simplot (Smart Farm) and Rantizo. Year 1: 5,000 acres; Year 2: 20,000 acres.
Drone SprayingCover Crop Seeding
Price on request
Corn Drone Spraying in Montana
Agricultural drone services for corn in Montana. Typical rate: $12 to $18/acre
In Montana, drone spraying for corn sits within the broader state custom-rate band of $12 to $18/acre, with the most comparable per-acre range for corn applications running $12 to $18/acre. Montana runs 200K acres of corn; Limited, eastern MT only. Montana sits in the Great Plains region, which shapes the disease, drift and timing pressures local operators plan around. Commercial drone applications in Montana require Category 18: Aerial Applicator from Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) on top of FAA Part 137 certification.
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About corn drone spraying
Corn is the largest crop in the United States at over 90 million acres, and drone fungicide application at the VT/R1 tassel stage is the number one use case for agricultural drones in America. Once corn exceeds six to eight feet, ground sprayers cannot clear the canopy without wheel-track damage that costs 3 to 6 bushels per acre in crushed rows. Drones solve this cleanly because they fly 8 to 15 feet above the canopy and never touch the ground. University trials are decisive on efficacy. Beck's Practical Farm Research across Iowa, Indiana and Illinois showed drone-applied fungicide at 2 to 3 gallons per acre matched ground rig results at 15 to 20 gallons per acre, with an average yield response of 5 to 8 bushels over untreated corn. Iowa State and Purdue Extension confirm the finding for tar spot, gray leaf spot and southern rust pressure years. Drone operators in the Corn Belt treat 300 to 600 acres per drone per day on DJI Agras T50 or Hylio AG-272 class machines during the peak two-week VT/R1 window in late July, and most book up four to six weeks ahead. Tank mixes combining a strobilurin fungicide with an insecticide for western corn rootworm beetle or western bean cutworm are standard on high-value seed corn and stacked-trait fields.
Typical rate: $12 to $18/acre
US acreage: 90M+ acres
Application calendar for corn
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Green months = optimal application window
Aerial pesticide licensing in Montana
Montana requires Category 18: Aerial Applicator for aerial pesticide application. The licensing authority is Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA).
Full agency, exam and renewal-cycle details: Montana state page · 50-state licensing reference · state extension service.
Corn drone operators in Montana
Iowa City, IA (HQ); serves WY, WY
Largest drone spraying network in the US. Northern Rockies Hub covers northern WY and southern MT. Two application specialists, 195+ flight hours, 3,650+ acres. Customers include Jordan Farms (Worland, WY), Simplot.
FAA Part 137 ✓FAA Part 107 ✓
Drone SprayingPilot TrainingEquipment Sales
Price on request
FAQ: corn drone spraying in Montana
Drone spraying rates for corn in Montana typically run $12 to $18/acre for application only; the farmer supplies the chemical product. State-level custom-rate guidance for Montana averages $12 to $18/acre. Pricing varies based on total acreage, distance from the operator base and product type.
Optimal drone application timing for corn runs Jul, Aug. Exact timing depends on weather, growth stage and pest or disease pressure each season; contact a local operator in Montana for scheduling at least 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the peak window.
Commercial drone pesticide application in Montana requires three credentials: an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate for the pilot, an FAA Part 137 Agricultural Aircraft Operator Certificate for the business, and Category 18: Aerial Applicator from Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA). Confirm any operator you hire holds all three before any application.
Drone spraying on corn offers zero soil compaction, the ability to operate when fields are too wet for tractors, GPS-guided uniform coverage at 95%+ accuracy and the ability to treat small or irregularly shaped fields. Peer-reviewed studies (Nature Scientific Reports 2025, ScienceDirect 2025, ACS 2023) report 46 to 75% pesticide use reduction, 65 to 70% drift reduction at field boundaries and 90 to 99% lower operator chemical exposure versus ground equipment.
The target window is VT to R1 (tassel emergence through silking), which lands in mid-to-late July across most of the Corn Belt. Spraying earlier than VT gives too little residual coverage; spraying after R2 usually shows diminishing yield response. Most operators run their peak schedule the last two weeks of July and the first week of August.
Published university trials show an average 5 to 8 bushel per acre response on fields with moderate to high disease pressure. In low-pressure years the response is often 2 to 4 bushels. High-pressure tar spot years in Indiana and Wisconsin have produced 15 to 25 bushel responses. Check your state extension service's annual trial summaries for local data.
Yes, on drones it is. The rotor downwash pushes droplets deep into the canopy, giving coverage that matches 15 to 20 gpa ground applications. The key is using the right nozzle and droplet size specification for your product label. Some labels require minimum gpa or droplet size that will disqualify low-volume drone application, so read the label before booking.
Yes, and this is the primary reason farmers hire drone operators on corn. Ground sprayers top out at roughly 6 to 8 feet of clearance, and tasseling corn is 8 to 11 feet tall. Flying a drone 8 to 15 feet above the canopy eliminates the height limit and the row-crush yield loss that high-clearance sprayers cause.
Most operators charge $12 to $18 per acre for application only, with the farmer supplying the chemical. Rates are lowest in dense Corn Belt counties where operator competition is strongest, and highest in fringe areas with long travel distances. Large-field discounts are common above 200 to 500 acres.
Corn Belt operators book out 4 to 6 weeks before the VT/R1 window. Call by early June for late-July slots. Iowa, Illinois and Indiana fill fastest; Ohio and Michigan have more late availability.