Ag Drone Spraying in Rock County, Wisconsin for Corn and Soybeans

Ag drone spray rates in Rock County, WI

Ag drone spraying in Rock County, WI is priced per acre for one pass, application only. Corn and soybeans cover about 204,000 acres here. The county ranks third in Wisconsin for crop sales, and it led the state in both corn and soybean production in 2019. Rates are set for large, high-yield fields from the Rock River valley to the Illinois line.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Corn and soybean herbicide	from $14/acre	Post-emerge, 2–3 gallons per acre
Corn fungicide or insecticide	from $15/acre	Tassel timing, western bean cutworm
Soybean fungicide or insecticide	from $15/acre	White mold, aphids, Japanese beetle
Alfalfa insecticide	from $14/acre	Weevil passes
Cover crop seeding	from $15/acre	Into standing corn or soybeans

Product is billed separately, or the grower supplies it. Wisconsin drone rates run about $11–22 per acre, with $16 typical. Listings for Rock County range $11–25, and one nearby operator charges $15–20. Our rates sit at or below the state median. The quote depends on water volume, crop height, field shape, pivots and power lines, and travel distance. The minimum charge is $350 per visit.

Rock County farm numbers

Measure	Rock County, WI (2022 Census)
Farms / land in farms	1,350 farms / 296,636 acres
Average farm size	220 acres
Market value of sales	$402.8M, 13th in Wisconsin, up 37%
Crop sales / grains and oilseeds	3rd / 3rd in Wisconsin ($210.8M)
Corn for grain / soybeans	119,270 / 84,663 acres
Forage / corn silage / wheat	17,777 / 6,159 / 4,473 acres
Vegetables	5,620 acres, 11th in Wisconsin
Irrigated land	15,734 acres

In 2019, Rock County led Wisconsin with 27.0 million bushels of corn at 199.7 bushels per acre, the state's top yield. It also led with 4.77 million bushels of soybeans at 58 bushels per acre. Seneca Foods runs a seasonal processing plant in Janesville. Canning peas, sweet corn and green beans mean sensitive crops sit near grain fields.

How an ag drone spray job works in Rock County

1. Scout and confirm. The grower or agronomist checks the pest or disease and the stage, and confirms the label allows aerial application.
2. Map. The operator marks field edges, waterways, pivots, wires, homes and neighboring vegetable fields.
3. Fly. The drone works 8–15 feet above the canopy and shuts off at mapped buffers.
4. Record. The grower gets product, rate, acres, time and weather the same day.

Palmer amaranth: first found in Rock County

Palmer amaranth was first confirmed in Wisconsin in a Rock County soybean field, reported in fall 2011. By 2023 it had been found in 13 Wisconsin counties. Glyphosate-resistant waterhemp is also established in the state. Both weeds grow fast and produce huge seed loads, so early detection and layered residuals matter. A drone fits mapped spot treatments on escapes along field edges and waterways before they set seed. The 2026 over-the-top dicamba labels don't allow aerial application.

Western bean cutworm, Japanese beetle and soybean aphid

DATCP's July 16, 2026 bulletin reported a sharp jump in western bean cutworm moths: 1,486 for the season so far, against 330 a year earlier. The key scouting window is 90–95% tassel. The same bulletin found Japanese beetle in 75% of soybean sites. Thresholds:

Pest	Crop	Treat when
Japanese beetle	Soybeans	20% defoliation, bloom to pod fill
Japanese beetle	Corn	3+ beetles per ear, silks under ½ inch, and pollination under 50%
Soybean aphid	Soybeans	250 per plant on 80% of plants, best at R2–R4

All three peak when corn is over 8 feet and soybeans have closed rows, which is when drones outperform ground rigs.

Tar spot and white mold

Tar spot was first confirmed in Wisconsin in 2016–17 in nearby Green, Iowa, Grant and Lafayette counties. UW's 2026 mid-season update rated the risk high in southern Wisconsin. The key fungicide window runs from tassel to R3, and a single pass at tassel matters most. For white mold in soybeans, UW recommends spraying between beginning flower and beginning pod.

Nitrate and Rock County's sandy outwash

Nitrate is the most common groundwater pollutant in Rock County. A 1982 UW survey found about 27% of 406 sampled wells over 10 mg/L. The county health department reports about 30% of well tests above 10 ppm after more than 20 years of tracking. Glacial outwash fills the old Rock River valley at least 396 feet deep, so the shallow aquifers recharge fast. Accurate rates, spot treatments and in-crop nitrogen timing all help keep inputs in the root zone.

Rock River, Turtle Creek and the Illinois line

The Rock River runs south through Janesville and Beloit, and the Sugar River and Turtle Creek drain the western and eastern county. A small part of 10,460-acre Lake Koshkonong reaches into Rock County. Fields near streams get label setbacks and coarse droplets. Wisconsin's FieldWatch registry lists vegetable fields and apiaries, and operators check it before every job.

Rock County borders Illinois, and Illinois-based operators need a Wisconsin license to spray here. DATCP offers reciprocity to Illinois-certified applicators. The aerial category still has to be added on top of a base category, and for-hire work requires a Wisconsin pesticide business license.

DATCP licensing and Janesville airspace

A for-hire drone applicator in Wisconsin needs FAA Part 107, a Part 137 certificate, and a Section 44807 exemption for drones over 55 pounds. They also need DATCP certification in a base category such as 1.1 plus aerial category 9.9, an annual Individual Commercial Applicator License, and a Pesticide Business License.

Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, about 3 nautical miles southwest of Janesville, has Class D airspace with a control tower open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fields around it need FAA authorization. Beloit Airport, 3 miles east of Beloit, has no tower.