Crop Spraying in Logan County, OK by Drone for Wheat and Pasture

Crop spraying prices in Logan County

Crop spraying in Logan County, OK by drone is billed per acre, per pass, application only. Operators listed for the county quote $8–16 per acre, with $12 typical in Oklahoma, and one pasture operator lists $12–15. A state directory puts wheat at $12–16. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Wheat herbicide	from $11/acre	Before first hollow stem
Wheat fungicide or insecticide	from $12/acre	Flag leaf and later
Hay and pasture weeds	from $11/acre	Broadleaves
Musk thistle patches	from $13/acre	Rosettes before bolting
Volunteer wheat burndown	from $11/acre	Before planting

Fields under 20 acres are billed as 20 acres, and neighbors can share a trip. Product is billed separately. Quotes reflect field size, creeks and lakes nearby, and the spray volume on the label.

Wheat, hay, cattle and goats

Logan County had 1,162 farms on 294,887 acres in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, averaging 254 acres, with $47.5 million in sales, 63% from livestock.

Crop or livestock	2022
Hay and forage	37,794 acres
Wheat for grain	26,522 acres
Soybeans	1,672 acres
Cattle	38,706 head
Goats	4,376 head
Sheep	2,118 head

Sheep, goats, wool and mohair ranked third in Oklahoma. About 39% of farms run under 50 acres, and only 374 acres are irrigated, so crop spraying in Logan County is dryland wheat, hay and pasture on many small places. Net cash farm income was negative in 2022, at about −$14.5 million, and 44% of farms sold under $2,500, so every pass has to earn its keep. The county covers 749 square miles and had 49,555 residents in 2020, about 10,800 of them in Guthrie.

First hollow stem and grazed wheat

Oklahoma sows about 6 million acres of wheat, and 40–60% of it is grazed. OSU's first hollow stem check looks for 5/8 inch of hollow stem below the developing head, about the width of a dime. Grazing past that point costs 1–5% of grain yield a day. Herbicide passes on dual-purpose wheat are timed around cattle removal and label grazing intervals.

Wheat streak mosaic and volunteer wheat

The wheat curl mite carries wheat streak mosaic from volunteer wheat into new fields. OSU advises killing volunteer wheat at least 14 days before the crop emerges and, in northern Oklahoma, planting after about October 1; one fall infection cut yield from 51 to 19 bushels an acre. A drone burndown on volunteer wheat breaks that green bridge without driving across dry, cracked ground.

Hessian fly: a variety decision

OSU notes that the fly-free date doesn't work in Oklahoma, and rescue insecticides and seed treatments give poor control of Hessian fly. Resistant varieties and destroying volunteer wheat are the tools. Drone passes focus on weeds, rust and other insects where a spray pays.

Oklahoma's thistle law

State law declares musk, Scotch and Canada thistle a public nuisance in every county, requires landowners to control them each year before they seed, and allows fines of up to $1,000 per violation per day. Infestations are rated light under 2 plants per acre, medium at 2–9 and severe at 10 or more. A drone treats rosettes in pasture corners and creek banks before they bolt.

Langston and goat research

Langston University, founded in 1897 as an 1890 land-grant college, runs the American Institute for Goat Research on about 320 fenced acres with Alpine dairy, Spanish, Boer and Angora herds. With more than 4,300 goats in the county, pasture labels with grazing limits for goats matter on many jobs.

Cottonwood Creek and Liberty Lake

Cottonwood Creek drains about 320 square miles into the Cimarron River northwest of Guthrie; its record crest at Guthrie reached 30 feet in 1983, and it topped 27 feet again in 2013 and 2019. Liberty Lake, 197 acres run by the City of Guthrie, sits west of I-35. Operators map creeks, the Cimarron and lakes as no-spray zones, and a drone treats bottom fields that stay wet after high water.

Field conditions

Field condition	Ground sprayer	Spray drone
Grazed wheat on soft ground	Ruts, tracks	No soil contact
Creek bottoms after rain	Stuck rigs	No soil contact
Small pastures between timber	Missed corners	Mapped edges
Fields near lakes	Drift concerns	Mapped buffers

A Logan County spray year

Window	Typical drone work
February to March	Wheat herbicide before first hollow stem
April to May	Wheat fungicide, musk thistle rosettes
June to July	Hay meadow weeds
August to September	Volunteer wheat burndown before planting

Licensing and airspace

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) licenses commercial drone applicators under its aerial category, and the business holds an FAA Part 137 certificate with Part 107 pilots. Guthrie/Edmond Regional Airport sits two miles south of Guthrie with a 5,201-foot runway, so crews check airspace for fields nearby. OSU Extension in Guthrie offers meat goat and IPM programs.