Ag Drone Spraying in Lincoln County, TN for Corn, Cotton and Hay

Ag drone spraying prices in Lincoln County

Ag drone spraying in Lincoln County, TN is billed per acre, per pass, application only. Tennessee drone rates run about $9–17 per acre for corn, soybeans, cotton and wheat, with $12 typical in 2026. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Corn and soybean fungicide	from $12/acre	Tassel corn, R3 beans
Hay and pasture weeds	from $12/acre	Broadleaves, thistles
Wheat fungicide	from $12/acre	Flag leaf to heading
Cotton passes and defoliation	from $14/acre	Higher spray volume
Cover crop seeding	from $14/acre	Seed billed separately

Each visit has a $200 minimum. Product is billed separately. Quotes reflect field size, the Elk River and creeks nearby, poultry houses and the spray volume on the label.

First in Tennessee for cattle sales

Lincoln County had 1,450 farms on 270,934 acres in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, with sales up 57% to $196 million, fourth in Tennessee. Livestock brought in 71%, second in the state.

Crop or livestock	2022
Hay and forage	36,928 acres
Corn for grain	21,571 acres
Soybeans	16,930 acres
Cotton	7,842 acres
Wheat	5,367 acres
Cattle	69,050 head
Broilers	3.67 million

Cattle sales of $49.4 million ranked first among Tennessee's 95 counties, poultry and eggs third and cotton 11th. Ag drone spraying in Lincoln County covers hay and pasture, row crops and cotton in the same season.

Cropland, pasture and woods

Cropland covers about 36% of farmland, pasture 32% and woodland 25%, and most farms run 10–179 acres. Fields are often broken by tree lines and creeks, so a drone flies mapped edges instead of turning a sprayer in tight corners.

The Elk River

The Elk River splits Lincoln County into two nearly equal halves on its 195-mile run into Alabama. TWRA counts 46 species of greatest conservation need in the river, 19 of them federally protected, including the endangered boulder darter and imperiled mussels, and names farm runoff, cattle in streams and sediment as threats. Harms Mill Dam, built in the early 1920s by Fayetteville Light and Power, began coming out in 2025, reconnecting more than 1,100 stream miles. The river crosses US 64 near Kelso and flows about a mile south of the Fayetteville courthouse. Operators map the Elk and its tributaries as no-spray zones and use only products labeled for use near water.

Tims Ford tailwater

Cold releases from TVA's Tims Ford Dam upstream stressed the boulder darter and endangered mussels, and TVA changed operations to warm the tailwater. Fields along the river below the dam get wider buffers and careful wind checks.

Poultry houses beside fields

With 3.7 million broilers and poultry sales of $87.7 million, many farms have houses next to hay and row-crop ground. Operators map houses, fans and intakes as no-spray zones, fly only with wind blowing away from them and follow growers' biosecurity rules. In March 2017, a poultry farm here confirmed H7N9 avian flu and about 74,000 birds were culled, which is why biosecurity comes first on every farm visit.

No-till fields

Tennessee planted about 70% of its cropland no-till in 2008, third in the nation by share. Drones fit no-till systems: no wheel tracks, no compaction and cover crops seeded into standing corn and soybeans.

Across the Alabama line

Lincoln County borders Madison and Limestone counties in Alabama. Drone spraying in Alabama needs Alabama pesticide certification with aerial credentials plus FAA Part 137, and Part 107 alone doesn't allow spraying. Crews confirm which state every field sits in before the job.

Dairy history and the Central Basin

Most of the county lies in the Central Basin, the rest on the Highland Rim. Created in 1809, it supplied Borden and Kraft plants from its dairies in the 1930s and 1940s; the old Borden plant is now the Lincoln County Museum. The county covers 571 square miles and had 35,319 residents in 2020.

Field conditions

Field condition	Ground sprayer	Spray drone
Corn at tassel	Crop damage	Flies above the canopy
Cotton at defoliation	Wheel-track losses	No crop contact
Hay ground along the Elk	Drift concerns	Mapped buffers
Fields cut by tree lines	Missed corners	Mapped edges

A Lincoln County spray season

Window	Typical drone work
April to May	Wheat fungicide, pasture weeds
June	Hay weeds between cuttings, rescue herbicide
July to August	Corn fungicide, soybean R3, cotton passes
September to October	Cotton defoliation, cover crops

Licensing and airspace

For-hire drone work in Tennessee needs Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) certification with the aerial category, and the business holds an FAA Part 137 certificate with Part 107 pilots. Fayetteville Municipal Airport sits six miles south of town with a 5,900-foot runway, so crews check airspace for fields nearby. UT Extension in Fayetteville offers $20 soil and forage tests, pesticide certification training and cattle and hay scales.