Drone Spraying in Johnson County, TX for Hay, Pasture and Small Acreage

Drone spraying prices in Johnson County

Drone spraying in Johnson County, TX is quoted per acre, application only. Operators listed for the county start at $12–15 per acre, one with a 20-acre minimum. For comparison, Texas A&M AgriLife's 2026 custom rates for its North region put aerial herbicide at $9.27 and aerial brush work at $26.50. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Hay insecticide	from $11/acre	Fall armyworm
Wheat and corn fungicide	from $11/acre	Leaf diseases
Pasture and hay herbicide	from $12/acre	Label-timed
Overseeding	from $14/acre	Seed billed separately
Mesquite, honey locust and brush	from $22/acre	Higher spray volume

Each visit has a $200 minimum, and neighbors can share a trip. Product is billed separately. Quotes reflect acreage, brush density, homes nearby and the spray volume on the label.

Small places, horses and hay

Johnson County had 2,745 farms in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, averaging just 105 acres, and 72% are under 50 acres. Livestock brought in 62% of $66 million in sales.

Crop or livestock	2022
Hay and forage	43,566 acres
Corn for grain	24,159 acres
Wheat	14,873 acres
Cattle	39,647 head
Goats	6,452 head
Horses	4,420 head

The county ranks 11th in Texas for horses. Drone spraying in Johnson County is mostly hay meadows, horse and cattle pastures and small places, plus corn and wheat in the east.

Grand Prairie, Cross Timbers and Blackland

The western half of the county is Grand Prairie on limestone, about a third is Eastern Cross Timbers with sandy, acid soils, and the east is deep Blackland clay. The Nolan River runs north to south through the middle into the Brazos, which forms the southwest border. Brush and pasture work dominate in the west; wheat, corn and hay in the east.

Pasture and hay weeds

AgriLife's 2025 forage weed guide lists Texas bullnettle (spray at early bloom), silverleaf nightshade, ragweed, smutgrass, sandbur (spray under 1.5 inches) and Johnsongrass (spray at 18–24 inches). Hay intervals vary widely: WeedMaster needs 37 days before cutting, Plateau 7, and Cimarron Plus none. Operators match the product to your cutting schedule.

Fall armyworm

AgriLife's threshold is three or more armyworms per square foot. They hit bermudagrass, wheat, ryegrass, sorghum and corn in North and Central Texas and feed at night, so morning scouting matters. A drone treats a hay meadow the same morning armyworms are found.

Honey locust and mesquite

AgriLife's brush guidance for honey locust calls for leaf sprays from late spring through summer, once leaves mature, with 76–100% kill under ideal conditions, and a yearly check for seedlings. Mesquite follows a similar leaf-spray window. Drones spot-spray scattered trees from mapped coordinates or broadcast dense regrowth where labels allow.

Herbicide rules nearby

Johnson County isn't on TDA's regulated-herbicide list, and neither are Ellis, Hill, Tarrant, Bosque, Somervell or Hood. Dallas and McLennan counties are regulated, so fields there follow extra rules on timing and permits.

Lake Pat Cleburne and creeks

Lake Pat Cleburne, 1,558 acres on the Nolan River, is Cleburne's water supply. Operators map the lake, the Nolan and Brazos rivers, creeks, stock tanks and wells as no-spray zones, use only products labeled for use near water, and check FieldWatch's DriftWatch and BeeCheck before every job; Texas joined FieldWatch as its 27th partner state.

Growth, neighbors and airspace

The county grew from about 180,000 people in 2020 to an estimated 210,000 in 2024, and pastures near Burleson (about 51,600 people), Joshua and Alvarado now border subdivisions; part of Mansfield also reaches into the county. Operators map homes, barns, arenas and gardens as no-spray zones. Cleburne Regional Airport, northwest of town, handles about 91 operations a day, and Fort Worth Spinks Airport's Class D airspace lies just north of the county, so crews check airspace for every field.

Local programs, climate and specialty acres

The AgriLife Extension office in Cleburne runs a 2026 Hay Show, an Early Winter Cattle Program and a fall Farm and Ranch Management program, and supports the Rio Brazos Master Naturalists. The county averages about 37.6 inches of rain a year, with elevations from roughly 500 to 1,065 feet. It also ranks 13th in Texas for Christmas trees and 22nd for milk, so small specialty plots and dairy forage sit alongside hay and cattle. Those sensitive acres are mapped before every herbicide job.

A Johnson County spray year

Window	Typical drone work
March to April	Spring broadleaves, wheat fungicide
May to June	Honey locust and mesquite, sandbur
June to July	Johnsongrass, bullnettle at early bloom
Late summer to fall	Fall armyworm in hay
October	Ryegrass overseeding

Texas licensing

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) requires commercial drone applicators to hold a $200-a-year Commercial Applicator license with the Aerial category plus another use category; landowners spraying their own land can get a private license with the Aerial exam. The FAA requires Part 107, Part 137 and a Section 44807 exemption for drones of 55 pounds or more.