Crop Spraying in Warren County, Tennessee by Drone

Crop spraying prices in Warren County

Crop spraying in Warren County, TN by drone is billed per acre, one pass, application only. You buy the product through your co-op or supplier, and a TDA-licensed operator applies it at label rate.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Soybean fungicide & insecticide	from $12/acre	frogeye, stink bugs, loopers
Corn fungicide	from $12/acre	gray leaf spot, southern rust
Wheat fungicide & herbicide	from $12/acre	head scab, ryegrass
Hay & pasture weed control	from $13/acre	thistles, buttercup, broadleaf weeds
Field nursery weed & pest work	quoted per block	where labels allow aerial use

Directory data puts Tennessee drone rates at $9–$17 per acre for row crops and $14–$20 statewide, and operators serving the county list ranges such as $15–$40. Our starting rates sit in the lower part of the state range. Price depends on acres per trip, carrier volume, field shape, obstacles such as tree lines, nursery structures and power lines, and travel from McMinnville. Fields under 15 acres are usually billed at a 15-acre minimum.

The Nursery Capital and its row crops

Warren County is known as the Nursery Capital of the World. In the USDA 2022 Census, its nursery, greenhouse, floriculture and sod sales topped $124 million, first in Tennessee. The census counts 985 farms on about 147,100 acres, averaging 149 acres. Hay covers about 22,800 acres, soybeans about 20,700, nursery stock about 15,700, corn about 10,000 and wheat about 2,200. The county had about 31,700 cattle.

Crop	Main drone jobs	Typical timing
Soybeans	Frogeye leaf spot; stink bugs, loopers	July–September
Corn	Gray leaf spot and southern rust fungicide	July
Wheat	Head scab fungicide; Italian ryegrass	March–May
Hay & pasture	Thistles, buttercup, poison hemlock	Spring–fall
Field nursery	Weeds between rows; select insect and disease work	Spring–fall

Drones and field-grown nursery stock

Thousands of acres of field-grown shade trees, flowering trees and shrubs surround McMinnville, Morrison and Rock Island. Nursery blocks are tightly spaced and often wet, which makes ground spraying slow.

• Label check first: products must be labeled for ornamentals and for aerial use, and many are not.
• Tree height and spacing set flight height and droplet size.
• Workers and re-entry intervals are planned with nursery managers.
• Buffers protect neighboring nurseries and sensitive stock from row-crop herbicides.

Nursery growers also need row-crop neighbors to spray carefully. Herbicide drift onto nursery stock can cause serious losses, which is why low flight and coarse droplets matter here.

Soybeans, corn and wheat in Warren County

Row crops on the Highland Rim around Centertown, Morrison and Viola follow a corn, wheat and double-crop soybean rotation. Head scab fungicide at wheat flowering, corn fungicide at tassel and late stink bug passes in soybeans all come when canopies are closed or fields are soft after rain. Drones apply on time without wheel tracks.

Plateau edge and rivers of Warren County

The eastern edge of the county climbs onto the Cumberland Plateau, and the Collins River, Barren Fork and Caney Fork cut through farmland toward Rock Island State Park and Great Falls. Labels require buffers from water, and drones hold mapped buffers precisely. Steep ground along the plateau edge is treated without tractors.

Hay and pasture for cattle

Hay is the largest crop by acreage in the county, and about 31,700 cattle graze its pastures. Musk thistle, buttercup, poison hemlock and broadleaf weeds lower forage quality, and some are toxic to livestock. Drones spot-spray weed patches, treat pastures surrounded by woods and nurseries without heavy equipment, and the operator checks grazing and haying intervals on each label before every job in Warren County.

Spray calendar for Warren County

Months	Typical jobs
February–March	Wheat herbicide for ryegrass; pasture buttercup and hemlock
April–May	Wheat head scab fungicide; nursery weed control; pasture thistles
June–July	Corn fungicide; full-season soybean weeds; nursery insect work
August–September	Soybean fungicide and insects; double-crop beans
September–October	Cover crop seeding; fall thistles

Why Warren County growers use drones

• No wheel tracks in heading wheat, tall corn and closed soybeans.
• Low-drift placement next to valuable nursery stock.
• On-time passes after rain on soft ground.
• Steep and small fields priced the same per acre.

Tennessee licensing for drone spraying

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) licenses pesticide applicators. A commercial applicator spraying for hire by drone needs certification in the category for the work, such as agricultural plant pest control or ornamental pest control, plus the aerial category, and the business must carry the insurance TDA requires. Farmers spraying their own land should check TDA's private applicator rules for aerial application.

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 the field or nursery block location, crop, acres and target.
2. We match you with a TDA-licensed, FAA Part 137-certified operator working in Warren County.
3. The operator checks labels and nearby nurseries, and you approve the quote and window.
4. The operator maps the block, applies and sends you the application record.

Communities we cover

McMinnville, Morrison, Viola, Centertown, Rock Island, Irving College, Smartt, Campaign, Dibrell and Midway, plus farms along the Van Buren, Cannon, Grundy, DeKalb, White and Coffee county lines.