Ag Drone Services in Winona County, Minnesota

Ag drone service rates in Winona County

Ag drone services in Winona County, MN are priced per acre for one pass, application only. You buy the product through your co-op or agronomist, and an MDA-licensed operator applies it at label rate.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Corn fungicide at tassel	from $13/acre	tar spot, northern corn leaf blight
Soybean R3 fungicide & insecticide	from $13/acre	white mold, soybean aphid
Alfalfa insect control	from $13/acre	weevil, potato leafhopper
Cover crop seeding	from $12/acre	rye or oats into standing crops
Ridgetop & contour-strip fields	from $15/acre	slopes, narrow strips
Small orchards & vegetables	from $20/acre	higher water volume

Minnesota drone spraying typically runs $10–$20 per acre, with a 2026 state typical figure near $14. Operators near Winona list from $10 to $16–$25, and one statewide service starts at $15 for spraying and $12 for cover crops. Our rates sit just under the state typical figure. Price depends on acres, slope and strip layout, tree lines, power lines, farm buildings and travel from Winona or St. Charles. Small fields are billed at a 15-acre minimum.

Farming in Winona County

Winona County sits in southeast Minnesota's bluff country, between the Mississippi River and the rolling uplands around St. Charles and Lewiston. The USDA 2022 Census counts 993 farms on about 295,700 acres, averaging 298 acres, with about 198,100 harvested acres. Corn for grain leads at about 89,400 acres, followed by soybeans at 45,900, hay and forage at 42,200 and silage corn at 15,600. Livestock brings in about 62% of farm sales, with about 85,100 cattle, many of them dairy, and 55,800 hogs.

Crop	Common targets	Typical drone window
Corn	Tar spot, northern corn leaf blight, gray leaf spot	July–August
Soybeans	White mold, soybean aphid	July–August
Alfalfa	Alfalfa weevil, potato leafhopper	May–July
Silage corn	Weeds, foliar disease	June–August
Small orchards & vegetables	Apple scab, insects, weeds	April–September

Upland plateau and ridgetop fields

The flat upland around St. Charles, Utica, Lewiston and Altura is the county's main row-crop ground. Closer to the river, fields sit on narrow ridges and terraced slopes above deep coulees. Big sprayers lose time on side hills and short strips.

• Terrain-following flight at a steady height over slopes.
• Strip-by-strip treatment in contour-strip rotations.
• No wheel tracks on erodible ridge soils.

Winona County dairy forage between cuttings

Dairy farms around Lewiston, Altura and Rollingstone grow alfalfa and silage corn for their own herds. Alfalfa weevil threatens the first cutting, and potato leafhopper damages regrowth in summer. A drone sprays between cuttings without driving on new growth, and operators check harvest intervals so the next cutting stays on schedule.

Whitewater River and karst country

Southeast Minnesota is karst country, with sinkholes, springs and cold-water trout streams. The Whitewater River, Garvin Brook, Rush Creek and other streams run through the county, and Whitewater State Park and the Whitewater Wildlife Management Area protect large areas along the river. Pesticides can reach groundwater quickly through sinkholes, so operators map sinkholes, springs, wells and streams as buffer zones, and drones hold those buffers precisely.

Mississippi River bluffs and refuge

The Mississippi River forms the county's eastern border at Winona, Minnesota City and Dakota, and much of the river bottom is part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Fields along the river terraces and blufftops are mapped with wider buffers near the refuge, and flights avoid busy river corridors and Winona Municipal Airport traffic.

Cover crops on sloping ground

Cover crops help hold soil on slopes and capture manure nutrients from livestock farms. A drone broadcasts cereal rye or oats into standing soybeans at leaf yellowing or into corn before harvest, so the cover is established before freeze-up. This is especially useful after silage corn, when fields would otherwise sit bare all winter.

Spray calendar for Winona County

Months	Typical jobs
April–May	Burndown; alfalfa weevil before first cutting; orchard sprays
June	Post-emergence weed passes; potato leafhopper
July	Corn fungicide at tassel; soybean aphid scouting
August	Soybean R3 fungicide and insecticide; second tar spot pass
August–September	Cover crop seeding after silage and into soybeans

Why Winona County farmers use drones

• Steep ridges and contour strips handled with ease.
• Precise buffers around sinkholes, trout streams and the river refuge.
• No compaction on erodible slopes.
• Fast work between alfalfa cuttings.
• Extra capacity in the tassel fungicide window.

Minnesota licensing for drone spraying

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) licenses pesticide applicators. Anyone spraying for hire by drone needs a commercial applicator license with the aerial pest control category and the categories that match the work. Minnesota also requires commercial drone operators to register aircraft and hold insurance through MnDOT Aeronautics. Farmers using restricted-use products on their own land need private applicator certification.

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 an MDA-licensed, FAA Part 137-certified operator working in Winona 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

Winona, St. Charles, Lewiston, Goodview, Rollingstone, Altura, Utica, Stockton, Minnesota City, Dakota, Elba and Dover, plus farms along the Wabasha, Olmsted, Fillmore and Houston county lines and across the river in Wisconsin.