Drone Spraying in Goodhue County, MN for Corn, Beans and Alfalfa

Drone spraying rates in Goodhue County

Drone spraying in Goodhue County, MN is billed per acre, per pass, application only. Minnesota drone rates run $10–20 per acre with $14 typical for 2026, and Midwest rates have dropped from the low $20s in 2022 to $12–17 today. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Corn fungicide	from $13/acre	Tar spot at VT–R2
Soybean fungicide and insecticide	from $13/acre	White mold, aphids
Alfalfa insecticide	from $13/acre	Weevil, potato leafhopper
Post-emerge herbicide	from $13/acre	Rescue passes
Cover crop seeding	from $12/acre	Rye after silage or beans

Each visit has a $350 minimum. Steep, broken-up or wooded fields take more flight time, which the quote shows up front. Product is billed separately.

Dairy and grain in Goodhue County

Goodhue County ranked fifth in Minnesota for milk sales, at $102.4 million, and ninth for cattle in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Total farm sales reached $595.6 million.

Crop or livestock	2022
Corn for grain	182,876 acres
Soybeans	118,627 acres
Forage (hay and haylage)	25,556 acres
Corn silage	7,437 acres
Hogs	99,919 head
Cattle	68,383 head

Cropland covers 85% of farmland, and 35% of the county's 1,406 farms are under 50 acres. Drone spraying in Goodhue County covers corn and soybeans plus the alfalfa that feeds the county's dairies.

Tar spot hits southeast Minnesota hardest

Southeast Minnesota has had the biggest tar spot yield losses in the state. UMN Extension found that when tar spot shows up by mid-July, an epidemic usually follows, and the spray window runs from VT to R2. In 2025 southeast Minnesota trials, a VT application returned about 39 bushels per acre under high pressure, while waiting two weeks past tassel was too late. Southern rust also rose in 2024 and 2025. A drone puts fungicide on at tassel when the corn is too tall for a ground rig.

Alfalfa weevil and potato leafhopper

Pest	Scouting	UMN threshold
Alfalfa weevil	Mid-May to June	1.5–3.5 larvae per stem, by height
Potato leafhopper	From mid-June	0.2–3.0 per sweep, by height

If more than half the stand is at bud when weevil hits threshold, cutting early beats spraying. Leafhopper hits regrowth after first cutting, when a quick pass saves the next crop.

Soybean aphid and white mold

UMN's aphid threshold is about 250 per plant, with more than 80% of plants infested and numbers rising, and the spray should go on within 5–7 days. Aphids peak in July and August. White mold favors cool, wet weather at flowering, so fields with a history of it are often treated at R1–R3.

Glufosinate-resistant waterhemp next door

In March 2026, UMN confirmed Minnesota's first glufosinate-resistant waterhemp in neighboring Dodge County. Liberty at 32 fluid ounces gave only about 60% control, and the population also showed reduced sensitivity to Groups 2, 4, 5, 9 and 14. UMN recommends strong pre-emergence residuals and rotating sites of action. Drones are useful for rescue passes when rain keeps ground rigs out past label height limits.

Blufflands, karst and groundwater

Eastern Goodhue County drops through steep bluffs and ravines to the Mississippi and Lake Pepin, and the Cannon and Zumbro rivers cut through the north and south.

Field condition	Ground sprayer	Spray drone
Steep slopes and contour strips	Rollover risk	Follows terrain
Small fields between woods	Missed corners	Mapped edges
Wet bottoms after rain	Ruts	No soil contact
Tall corn at tassel	Crop damage	Flies above the canopy

Parts of southeast Minnesota fall under the MDA Groundwater Protection Rule's vulnerable areas because of karst and shallow bedrock. Operators map sinkholes, wells and streams as no-spray zones and check FieldWatch's DriftWatch and BeeCheck before every job.

Cover crops on erodible ground

Steep fields in Goodhue County lose soil fast after corn silage or soybean harvest. Drones seed cereal rye into standing soybeans in late August and early September, or right after silage comes off, so roots hold soil through fall rains and spring melt.

A Goodhue County spray season

Window	Typical drone work
Mid-May to early June	Alfalfa weevil before first cutting
June	Post-emerge herbicide, rescue passes on waterhemp
Late June to August	Potato leafhopper on alfalfa regrowth
Mid-July to early August	Corn fungicide at VT–R2, soybean fungicide at R1–R3
July to August	Soybean aphid at threshold
Late August to September	Rye into standing beans or after silage

Airspace near Red Wing and Prairie Island

Red Wing Regional Airport sits just across the river from Red Wing, and the Prairie Island nuclear plant lies north of town. Operators check FAA airspace and any temporary restrictions for every field near the river before takeoff.

Minnesota licensing for drone application

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) requires commercial drone applicators to pass Category A (Core), Category B (General Aerial) and a field category such as C (Field Crops). Drones must also be registered with MnDOT, and operators need a MnDOT Commercial Operations License with proof of insurance. The FAA requires Part 107, Part 137 and a Section 44807 exemption for drones over 55 pounds.