Drone Spraying in Weld County, Colorado

Drone spraying prices in Weld County

Drone spraying in Weld County, CO is quoted per acre for one pass, application only. You source the product through your co-op, agronomist or sugar company program, and a CDA-licensed operator applies it at label rate.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Dryland wheat herbicide & fungicide	from $10/acre	winter wheat, eastern Weld
Irrigated corn fungicide & insecticide	from $11/acre	under pivots and furrow ground
Sugar beet & dry bean passes	from $12/acre	Cercospora, weeds, desiccation
Alfalfa & pasture weed control	from $11/acre	hay ground, grass pasture
Onions & vegetables	from $16/acre	higher water volume, tight timing
Cover crop seeding	from $12/acre	after wheat or corn silage

Colorado drone spraying runs about $8–$18 per acre, with most row-crop jobs near $12. Our starting rates sit at or just under that typical figure. The quote depends on acres, product volume, pivot layout, field shape, obstacles such as power lines, oil and gas pads and homes, and travel distance from Greeley. Small fields are billed at a 20-acre minimum.

Farming in Weld County at a glance

Weld County is one of the largest farm counties in the country. The USDA 2022 Census counts 3,881 farms on about 1.99 million acres, averaging 512 acres, with about 410,500 harvested cropland acres. Wheat leads at about 78,600 acres, followed by hay at 71,500, corn at 68,300 and sorghum at 16,700. About four-fifths of farm sales come from livestock: feedlots, dairies and lambs. Sugar beets, dry beans, onions and vegetables grow on irrigated ground along the South Platte and Cache la Poudre rivers.

Crop	Common targets	Typical drone window
Winter wheat	Downy brome, kochia, stripe rust, Russian wheat aphid	April–June
Corn	Western bean cutworm, spider mites, gray leaf spot	July–August
Sugar beets	Cercospora leaf spot, kochia, beet curly top	June–September
Dry beans	White mold, Mexican bean beetle, desiccation	July–September
Alfalfa	Alfalfa weevil, weedy first cutting	April–May

Irrigated ground along the South Platte

From Fort Lupton and Platteville north through LaSalle, Kersey and Greeley, ditches and center pivots water the county's highest-value crops. Corn under pivots grows past 8 feet by tassel, so ground rigs damage plants and get stuck in wet wheel tracks after an irrigation set. A drone sprays without stopping the pivot schedule for long, and it reaches the corners between circles where weeds escape.

• Corn fungicide and mite passes at tassel without driving the rows.
• Furrow-irrigated fields treated while the ground is still wet.
• Pivot corners and ditch banks covered in the same visit.

Sugar beets and dry beans

Weld County growers supply beets to the Western Sugar factory system, and pinto beans are a traditional rotation crop around Eaton, Ault and Kersey. Both crops have tight disease windows:

• Cercospora leaf spot in beets needs repeat fungicide passes from July into September, often every 14–21 days.
• White mold in dry beans is treated at early bloom, when the canopy closes and ground rigs crush vines.
• Kochia resistant to glyphosate and other modes of action is common, so operators follow label rates and rotation advice from your agronomist.
• Pre-harvest desiccation in beans is timed to dry-down without driving through ripe plants.

Dryland wheat in eastern Weld County

East of Highway 85, around Keenesburg, Hudson, Briggsdale, Grover and New Raymer, the county turns into dryland wheat-fallow country. Fields are large, but roads are long and rain is scarce, so a single disease or aphid flight has to pay. Drones help with:

• Stripe rust fungicide in wet springs, timed at flag leaf.
• Russian wheat aphid hot spots treated without spraying the whole section.
• Downy brome and kochia passes on fallow strips where a big sprayer would compact dry soil.

Silage, alfalfa and feedlot ground

Weld leads Colorado in dairy and cattle feeding, and those operations grow much of their own feed. Silage corn, alfalfa and grass hay near Johnstown, Milliken, Windsor and Gilcrest dairies need weed and insect control on a strict cutting schedule. Drones work between cuttings, and operators check each label's pre-harvest and grazing intervals so feed stays usable.

Oil and gas pads, power lines and growth

Weld County is also Colorado's main oil and gas county, and fields near Frederick, Firestone, Erie and Platteville are dotted with well pads, tank batteries and flow lines. New subdivisions push into farmland every year. Operators map pads, lines, homes and schools as no-spray zones before the flight, and drones fly at low height with coarse droplets near them. Fields near Greeley-Weld County Airport and the Denver area airspace may need FAA authorization before work.

Spray calendar for Weld County

Months	Typical jobs
March–April	Burndown on fallow; downy brome in wheat; alfalfa weevil
May–June	Wheat stripe rust and aphids; beet and bean herbicide passes
July–August	Corn fungicide and mites; Cercospora in beets; white mold in beans
September	Late beet fungicide; dry bean desiccation; cover crop seeding
October	Fall weed control on wheat ground; pasture broadleaf weeds

Why Weld County growers use drones

• No wheel tracks in tall corn, wet furrows or closed bean canopies.
• Fast response when a rust, mite or Cercospora window opens.
• Precise buffers around pads, homes, ditches and pastures with livestock.
• Lower minimums than airplanes for small fields and pivot corners.
• Wind discipline: Weld County wind is a real limit, so flights move to calm early mornings.

Colorado licensing for drone spraying

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) licenses commercial pesticide applicator businesses. Anyone spraying for hire by drone works under a licensed business with qualified supervisors and certified operators who passed the aerial application category. Growers who apply restricted-use pesticides on their own land need a private applicator license.

Federal rules require an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate, a Part 137 agricultural aircraft operator certificate and a Section 44807 exemption for drones over 55 pounds. If a label prohibits aerial application, the product cannot be applied by drone.

How booking works

1. Send field locations, acres, crop and what needs treating.
2. We match you with a CDA-licensed, FAA Part 137-certified operator working in Weld County.
3. You approve the per-acre quote and spray window.
4. The operator maps the field, applies and sends you the application record.

Communities we cover

Greeley, Evans, Windsor, Johnstown, Milliken, Fort Lupton, Platteville, LaSalle, Kersey, Eaton, Ault, Nunn, Keenesburg, Hudson, Frederick and Firestone, plus farms along the Larimer, Morgan, Adams, Boulder and Logan county lines.