No hidden fees and no pricing by phone only. Here is the rate, what it covers, what moves it, what never costs extra, and how you pay. Built for a farmer in a hurry and for the assistant reading on his behalf.
The rate
What the rate covers
- The aircraft, the pilot and the application at the label rate.
- The label check before the job goes on the schedule: rate, wind limit, buffers and re-entry time, read with the jug in hand.
- Water handling from your pivot, well or ditch, with your permission, or hauled in.
- Job texts if you want them: on the way, on site, done.
- Your private grower page and the application record: product, EPA number, rate, acres, weather, times and pilot.
Per acre, per pass, against the alternatives
| Method | What you pay | Per acre |
|---|---|---|
| Ground rig | $10 to spray, plus about $20 in yield lost to wheel tracks | $30 |
| Helicopter | Application | $25 |
| Fixed-wing aircraft | Application | $18 |
| Red White Blue drone | Application, no wheel tracks | $12 |
Real Eastern Idaho rates. The wheel track figure is yield lost to rig traffic under the crop canopy, the cost no invoice ever shows.
What moves the price, and what never does
Moves it
- Agreement length. Longer agreements carry lower rates, as low as $12.
- Carrier volume. The published rate covers standard 2 gallon per acre work. Heavier volumes take more flights per acre and are quoted per job.
- Granular and seed. Dry fertilizer, granular product and cover crop seed are quoted per job by weight per acre.
- Travel past 75 road miles. Free inside the ring around our Blackfoot yard. Farther out, one travel figure per trip, shown on your quote.
Never does
- Weather days. Wind or rain moves the day. It never adds a charge.
- Water from your own source. Pivot, well or ditch, with your permission.
- The label check. Every product, every job.
- Texts, your grower page and the record. Included.
- A deposit. None for a normal job.
What you keep, by crop
One number drives it: a ground rig costs about $30 an acre per pass once wheel track yield loss is counted. We cost $12. The difference is $18 an acre, every pass. Multiply by your passes and your acres.
| Crop, 1,000 acres | Passes | Season savings |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat and barley | 2 | $36,000 |
| Sugar beets | 4 | $72,000 |
| Potatoes, normal year | 8 | $144,000 |
| Potatoes, heavy year | 12 | $216,000 |
Scale it to your acres. 640 acres of wheat on two passes keeps $23,040. Run your own fields in the calculator.
A quote, worked out
A 640 acre wheat circle 40 road miles from Blackfoot, two herbicide passes in a season, under a three-season agreement.
- 640 acres at $12 per acre is $7,680 per pass.
- Two passes in the season: $15,360.
- Travel: inside the free ring, $0.
- Product: yours, at your co-op price, not on our invoice.
There is the quote, in writing, before you commit. The same ground on a rig: two passes at about $30 an acre is $38,400 in spray cost and lost yield. You keep $23,040.
The season agreement
- Pick one, two or three seasons. Name your fields and commit all acres on them to our spray service each season.
- Your rate holds for every season the agreement covers. Longer agreements carry lower rates.
- It arrives by text or email. Read it and sign it from your phone.
- Each job gets a text confirmation with the date, the field and the product you named.
How you pay
- An invoice after the job shows the acres applied, the rate and any travel.
- Pay by card or bank transfer from the invoice link, or send a check. Terms show on every invoice.
- No deposit for a normal job.
Add-on services, quoted per job
- Field mapping with the Hylio PHOTON scout drone: boundaries, pivots, wet spots and hazards.
- Stand counts from aerial images, so replant calls rest on numbers.
- Granular spreading from the ATLAS spreader: 45 gallon hopper, 26 foot swath.
- Cover crop seeding into standing crop or fresh stubble.
- Crop health scans, coming: multispectral scans for stress, nutrient gaps and disease.
Credentials, with dates as they land
Drone spraying takes five things. Ours are in progress for the 2027 season. No paid job flies until every one is in hand, and this list changes as each one does.
- FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificateIn progress
- FAA Part 137 agricultural aircraft operator certificateIn progress
- FAA Section 44807 exemption, aircraft over 55 poundsIn progress
- Idaho pesticide applicator licensesIn progress
- Aviation and chemical liability insuranceIn progress
Ask for the certificate of insurance before you schedule, and we send it.
Pricing questions, answered
What does drone spraying cost per acre in Eastern Idaho?
As low as $12 per acre with a multi-season agreement, for standard 2 gallon per acre work. The rate covers the aircraft, the pilot, the application and the record. You supply the product. Every quote shows the full price, travel included, before you commit.
What does the rate include?
The aircraft, the pilot, the application at the label rate, the label check before the job, water handling from your own source, job texts, your private grower page, and the application record with product, EPA number, rate, acres, weather, times and pilot.
What changes the price?
Agreement length, carrier volume above the standard 2 gallons per acre, granular or seed work by weight, and travel past 75 road miles from Blackfoot. Each one shows on your quote before you commit.
What never costs extra?
Weather days. Water from your own pivot, well or ditch. The label check. Texts, your grower page and the record. There is no deposit for a normal job.
Why is $12 cheaper than the rig I already own?
Your rig costs about $10 an acre to run and loses about $20 an acre in yield to wheel tracks, about $30 a pass. At $12 with no wheel tracks, you keep $18 an acre every pass. On 1,000 acres of wheat with two passes, $36,000 a season.
How and when do I pay?
You get an invoice after the job with the acres applied, the rate and any travel. Pay by card or bank transfer from the invoice link, or send a check. No deposit for a normal job.
Get your number in writing
Wade Lowery, owner and pilot. Twenty-one years in the Army as a combat engineer. Precision from Above. Results on the Ground.
Call or text: 208-980-2131
Email: 50RedWhiteBlue@Gmail.com
Request online: rwbdrones.com/request