Agricultural Drones: How Spraying and Spreading Work
An agricultural drone is an unmanned aircraft that sprays liquid, spreads granules or maps a field. The largest models now lift 100 kg in a single load.
What an Agricultural Drone Does
An agricultural drone is an unmanned aircraft built to put something onto a field or to record what is already there. Three jobs cover almost all current use. They are spraying liquid pesticide or fertiliser, spreading dry granules and seed, and flying a survey pass. The survey produces the field map that the other two jobs follow.
The mapping pass comes first in practice. An aircraft flies the boundary, builds a terrain model, and then follows that model at a fixed height above a surface that is rarely flat. XAG publishes 20 hectares of survey coverage per flight for its P150 Max, which sets how many mapping flights a large block needs before any spraying starts.
These aircraft are large. A loaded machine in the top size class weighs more than 170 kg. Most countries regulate them as agricultural aircraft rather than as drones, so the operator certificates matter more than the specifications do.
Who Builds Agricultural Drones
Two Chinese manufacturers hold most of the market for large spray aircraft. DJI sells the Agras line, and its T100 carries a 100 L spray tank and 100 kg of payload. XAG sells the P-series, and its P150 Max carries 80 L and 80 kg. Both companies sell through dealer and distributor networks rather than direct retail.
Yamaha Motor occupies a different part of the category with the RMAX and FAZER unmanned helicopters, which have sprayed rice in Japan since long before multirotor sprayers existed. A single-rotor helicopter puts a different airflow through the canopy than a multirotor, which is why it held on in rice and specialty crops.
Ground rovers sit alongside the aircraft rather than competing with them. XAG builds the R100 and R200 for orchards and vineyards, where spray has to reach the underside of a canopy that a rotor downwash pushes the wrong way.
What US Operators Have to Hold Before Spraying
Spraying a substance for agricultural purposes in the United States requires a Part 137 Agricultural Aircraft Operator Certificate. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues it, and without it an operator cannot legally dispense anything from an aircraft, crewed or not.
A Part 107 remote pilot certificate covers the flying itself and is the first step. The Part 137 certificate is separate and covers the dispensing. Aircraft at or above 55 pounds add a third requirement, a Section 44807 exemption. Those aircraft operate under 14 CFR Part 91 and need relief from several rules in Parts 61, 91 and 137.
Every large spray drone on the market crosses that 55-pound line, so the exemption route is the normal path rather than the exception. Applicants file FAA Form 8710-3 and submit the exemption number to the FAA to begin certification. Budget the approval time into a purchase decision, because an aircraft delivered before the paperwork clears cannot be used on a crop.
Where Agricultural Drones Do Not Work
Small acreage does not support ownership. Between the aircraft, spare batteries, a generator and the certification process, the fixed cost is high enough that a grower treating a small area repays it slowly. Hiring a contractor who already holds a Part 137 certificate covers the same work without the fixed cost.
Dense canopies defeat the delivery method. A multirotor pushes spray downward, so the underside of leaves in an orchard or vineyard receives little of it. Ground rovers and conventional airblast sprayers reach those surfaces, which is why XAG and others sell rovers alongside the aircraft rather than as a lesser option.
Wind closes the window. Spray drift limits the hours available on many days, and a large tank does not help when conditions stop flying altogether. Most pesticide labels also set their own wind limits, and those bind an operator regardless of what the aircraft can fly in. Contractors plan around it by holding more aircraft than a single machine's capacity suggests. A fleet calculation based on tank size alone will underestimate what a season needs.
How Spray Drones Compare to a Ground Rig
A spray drone is one of three ways to apply a product, and it wins on a narrow set of conditions. The table sets out where each method fits so the choice does not default to the newest option.
| Method | Where it fits | Where it loses |
|---|---|---|
| Spray drone | Wet or steep ground a tractor cannot enter, small or irregular blocks, spot treatment | Large flat blocks, where tank size forces constant refilling |
| Ground rig or airblast sprayer | Large flat blocks, orchards and vineyards needing canopy penetration | Saturated soil, steep slopes, and any field where wheel traffic damages the crop |
| Crewed agricultural aircraft | Very large areas treated in a short weather window | Small or irregular fields, and anywhere obstacles rule out low passes |
| Verdict | The drone earns its place on ground the other two cannot reach | It does not beat a ground rig on cost per hectare across open flat country |
The Import Question Sitting Over the Category
The two largest manufacturers of agricultural drones are both Chinese, which ties the category to US import policy. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added foreign-manufactured drones and drone critical components to its Covered List in December 2025. Temporary exemptions issued in January 2026 run to January 1, 2027.
The action is prospective. It applies to newly manufactured equipment and does not force the grounding of aircraft that already hold an authorization, so an existing fleet keeps flying. New purchases are the exposure.
That timeline is the reason a US grower planning a multi-season fleet should track the exemption date rather than treat the current market as settled. Growers who want to avoid the question can compare American-made drones, though the domestic options in the large-sprayer class are far fewer than in the camera-drone class.
Which Growers Should Buy One
Buying makes sense for a contractor or a large row-crop grower who will fly enough hectares to repay the fixed cost. They also have to be able to hold the certificates in their own name. Hectares treated per season decides it, rather than the tank size on the spec sheet.
Two changes would move our answer. If a US manufacturer shipped a large sprayer at a competitive capacity, the import question would stop shaping the category and the comparison would become a straight capability contest. If the FCC exemptions lapse on January 1, 2027 without replacement, new imports of the current market leaders become difficult. Domestic makers would then get a market they do not have today.
A grower weighing a purchase now should start the Part 137 and Section 44807 process before ordering an aircraft. The approval date sets when the first field can be sprayed. Delivery does not.
Drones and UAS FAQs
What is an agricultural drone used for?
An agricultural drone sprays liquid pesticide or fertiliser, spreads dry granules and seed, and flies survey passes that map a field before either job. The map comes first in practice, because the aircraft follows a terrain model to hold a fixed height above ground that is rarely flat. Large models in the current market carry between 70 kg and 100 kg of payload.
Do you need a licence to spray crops with a drone in the US?
Yes, and two certificates are involved. A Part 107 remote pilot certificate covers the flying, and a Part 137 Agricultural Aircraft Operator Certificate from the FAA covers dispensing a substance for agricultural purposes. Aircraft at or above 55 pounds, which includes every large spray drone sold today, also need a Section 44807 exemption before the Part 137 certificate is issued.
Which company makes the biggest agricultural drone?
DJI publishes the largest current figures with the Agras T100, at a 100 L spray tank, a 150 L granule container and 100 kg of payload. XAG follows with the P150 Max at 80 L of spray, a 115 L granule container and 80 kg of payload. Both figures are manufacturer-published for the spraying configuration.
Are agricultural drones worth it for a small farm?
Usually not. The aircraft, spare batteries, a generator and the certification process together carry a fixed cost that a small treated area repays slowly. The certificates also take time to obtain regardless of farm size. Hiring a contractor who already holds a Part 137 certificate gets the same work done without that cost. It is the normal route for growers below the acreage where ownership pays.