Ag Drone Spraying in Hawkins County, TN for Hay and Pasture

Ag drone spraying prices in Hawkins County

Ag drone spraying in Hawkins County, TN is priced per acre, per pass, application only. Tennessee drone rates run $9–17 per acre with about $12 typical, broader Tennessee quotes run $14–20, and tobacco work runs $17–32. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Pasture and hay herbicide	from $11/acre	Buttercup, thistles, horsenettle
Hay insecticide	from $12/acre	Fall armyworm
Fungicide or insecticide	from $13/acre	Corn, soybeans
Clover and cover crop seeding	from $14/acre	Pasture renovation
Tobacco	from $17/acre	Labeled products only

Each visit has a $200 minimum, and neighbors on the same road can share a trip. Product is billed separately. Steep hillsides and broken fields add flight time, which the quote shows up front.

A hay and cattle county

Livestock brought in 79% of Hawkins County's $24 million in farm sales in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Hay covers more than 30,000 acres, against just a few hundred acres of corn and soybeans.

Crop or livestock	2022
Forage (hay and haylage)	30,787 acres
Corn for grain	536 acres
Soybeans	349 acres
Cattle	28,323 head
Broilers	370,844 head
Horses	1,287 head

Of the county's 1,283 farms, 86% are under 180 acres, and the county ranks eighth in Tennessee for horse sales. Ag drone spraying in Hawkins County is grass work first.

Cool-season weeds: spray in November and December

UT Extension's 2026 guidance on winter pasture weeds is to scout from November and spray between November and March after three or more days above 60°F, with November and December giving the best results. Musk thistle is controlled best in late fall and early winter. Buttercup and buckhorn plantain should be treated before they flower, and lower rates work while plants are under 6 inches.

Buttercup windows and products

1. Fall window: mid-November to mid-December, preferred because fewer sensitive crops are growing and weather is steadier.
2. Spring window: mid-February to mid-March.
3. Weather trigger: spray on the third day of three days in a row with highs of 55°F or more.
4. Products: 2,4-D ester for common buttercup; GrazonNext HL or DuraCor for bulbous buttercup.

Horsenettle in summer

UT recommends spraying horsenettle while it's under 18 inches and before bloom, usually in June and July, with a repeat in early fall before dormancy. It spreads by roots, so one pass rarely finishes it.

Fall armyworm in hay

UT's threshold is about 4 larvae per square foot. If harvest is within a week, cut the hay instead of spraying. If harvest is more than 14 days away, longer-lasting products like Intrepid, Besiege or Prevathon fit; otherwise pyrethroids. Outbreaks can run into September.

Why cleaner hay matters

Hay is the county's biggest crop, and weeds cut both yield and feed value. Buttercup, thistles and horsenettle crowd out fescue and orchardgrass, and some, like buttercup, irritate livestock. The local Extension office tests hay and forage, so growers can see what weed control does to quality. Clean hay also sells better to horse owners, who make up a strong market here.

Burley tobacco and drift

In 1997, Hawkins County was Tennessee's second-largest burley producer, and tobacco patches still sit beside pastures across the county. Tobacco is highly sensitive to growth-regulator herbicides. Tennessee's FieldWatch registry lists tobacco, produce and orchards, and BeeCheck puts a one-mile radius around registered hives, so operators check both before every job and use coarse droplets on downwind edges.

Clinch Mountain to the Holston

Field condition	Tractor sprayer	Spray drone
Steep hillside pasture	Rollover risk	Follows terrain
Small hayfields between woods	Missed corners	Mapped edges
Holston River bottoms after rain	Ruts	No soil contact
Fenced paddocks	Many gates	Flies over fences

Clinch Mountain runs along the north, Bays Mountain to the east, and the Holston River cuts the main valley, long the county's best farmland. Operators map streams, springs and homes as no-spray zones.

A Hawkins County spray year

Window	Typical drone work
Mid-February to mid-March	Spring buttercup window
April to May	Thistles and broadleaves before first cutting
June to July	Horsenettle, summer broadleaves
Mid-August to September	Fall armyworm in hay
November to December	Best window for cool-season weeds

Airports near Rogersville and Kingsport

Hawkins County Airport sits about 6 miles northeast of Rogersville, and Tri-Cities Airport's tower and controlled airspace lie about 15 miles east of Mount Carmel. Operators check airspace for every field before takeoff.

Tennessee licensing for drone application

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) licenses drones as aircraft. A for-hire applicator needs commercial Category 1 (Agriculture) plus an Aerial Applicator (AER) license on form AG-0137, at least $100,000 in liability insurance and a decal for each aircraft. Labels marked "ground use only" can't be applied by drone. The FAA requires Part 107, Part 137 and a Section 44807 exemption for drones of 55 pounds or more.