Crop Spraying in Yolo County, California

Crop spraying rates in Yolo County

Crop spraying by drone in Yolo County, CA is priced per acre for one pass, application only. You buy the product through your PCA or farm supply, and a DPR-certified operator applies it at label rate.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Processing tomato passes	from $16/acre	mites, stink bugs, fungicide
Rice herbicide & fungicide	from $16/acre	flooded fields, stem rot
Wheat, alfalfa & field crops	from $14/acre	weeds, weevil, aphids
Sunflower seed fields	from $16/acre	insects, bee-safe timing
Vineyard fungicide	from $20/acre	powdery mildew, higher volume
Young orchards & block edges	from $22/acre	almonds, walnuts

California drone spraying typically runs $14–$22 per acre for field crops, $17–$34 for vineyards and $18–$35 for orchards. Operators serving Yolo County quote on request. Our starting rates sit at the low end of those ranges. Price depends on acres, water volume, canopy size, trees, power lines, homes and travel from Woodland or Davis. Small fields are billed at a 10-acre minimum.

Farming in Yolo County

Yolo County stretches from the Sacramento River and Yolo Bypass in the east to the Capay Valley and Blue Ridge foothills in the west. The USDA 2022 Census counts 795 farms on about 478,600 acres, averaging 602 acres, with about 197,400 harvested acres. Orchards cover about 79,500 acres, mostly almonds and walnuts. Vineyards add about 19,600 acres, alfalfa and hay about 16,700 and wheat about 15,900. Yolo is also a major processing tomato county, grows rice in the north and east, and is one of the leading areas for hybrid sunflower seed.

Crop	Common targets	Typical drone window
Processing tomatoes	Spider mites, stink bugs, powdery mildew, late blight	June–August
Rice	Watergrass, sedges, stem rot, armyworms	May–August
Sunflower seed	Lygus, sunflower moth, weeds	June–August
Wheat & alfalfa	Weeds, alfalfa weevil, aphids	February–July
Almonds, walnuts & grapes	Navel orangeworm, walnut blight, powdery mildew	March–September

Processing tomatoes around Woodland

Processing tomatoes around Woodland, Yolo, Zamora and Davis fill canneries every summer. Once vines cover the beds, ground rigs crush plants and spread disease. Drones help tomato growers:

• Spider mite and stink bug passes without driving through the canopy.
• Fungicide when powdery mildew or late blight appears.
• Spot treatment of field edges where mites start.
• Furrow-irrigated fields treated while the ground is still wet.

Rice near Knights Landing and the Bypass

Rice grows on heavy clay near Knights Landing, Dunnigan and along the Yolo Bypass. Flooded fields can't take ground equipment, and airplanes need large blocks. Drones work well for smaller checks, levee edges and spot treatment of escaped weeds, and they handle stem rot fungicide and armyworm passes later in the season.

Sunflower seed and bee timing

Hybrid sunflower seed fields depend on honey bees for pollination, and growers rent large numbers of hives during bloom. Insect control for lygus and sunflower moth must fit around the bees. Operators use products and timing that match pollinator labels, often flying in the evening, and they coordinate with the seed company and beekeeper.

Orchards and vineyards: where drones fit

Almonds and walnuts cover the most acres in the county, and vineyards grow around Clarksburg, Capay and Esparto. Mature orchards usually need high-volume air-blast sprayers for full canopy coverage. Drones fit best on young orchards, block edges, vineyards on uneven ground and cover crop seeding between rows. Operators check each label for aerial use and recommend the right method for each block.

Organic farms and sensitive neighbors

The Capay Valley and areas around Winters and Davis have many organic farms, and UC Davis research fields sit next to commercial farmland. Drift onto organic ground or research plots is costly. Operators map neighboring organic fields, homes, schools and research plots, fly in calm conditions with coarse droplets, and follow the buffer requirements on each label and permit.

Yolo Bypass, Cache Creek and Putah Creek

The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, the Sacramento River, Cache Creek, Putah Creek and many irrigation canals cross the county. Labels require buffers from water and wildlife areas, and drones hold mapped buffers precisely. Fields near Sacramento International Airport and the Davis and Woodland airfields need airspace authorization before work.

Spray calendar for Yolo County

Months	Typical jobs
February–March	Weeds in wheat; alfalfa weevil; orchard bloom sprays
April–May	Rice herbicides; tomato early passes; vineyard powdery mildew
June–July	Tomato mites and stink bugs; sunflower insects; rice fungicide
July–August	Late tomato passes; rice armyworms; navel orangeworm in nuts
September–October	Post-harvest weed control; cover crop seeding in orchards

Why Yolo County growers use drones

• Closed tomato canopies and flooded rice treated without ground traffic.
• Precise buffers around organic fields, research plots and waterways.
• Bee-safe timing for sunflower seed and orchard bloom.
• Small checks and odd blocks that airplanes skip.
• Fast response when mites or stink bugs build up.

California licensing for drone spraying

California's Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) requires drone pilots to hold an Unmanned Pest Control Aircraft Pilot Certificate, and spraying businesses must register with the Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner before work. Growers need an operator ID, and restricted materials need a permit and a notice of intent. Most agricultural applications follow a written recommendation from a licensed Pest Control Adviser (PCA).

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 or block locations, acres, crop and your PCA recommendation.
2. We match you with a DPR-certified, FAA Part 137-certified operator registered in Yolo County.
3. You approve the per-acre quote and spray window.
4. The operator maps the field, applies and sends you the application record for your use report.

Communities we cover

Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, Esparto, Capay, Guinda, Knights Landing, Yolo, Zamora, Dunnigan and Clarksburg, plus farms along the Colusa, Sutter, Sacramento, Solano, Napa and Lake county lines.