Drone Spraying in Montcalm County, MI for Potatoes, Corn and Beans

Montcalm County drone spraying prices

Drone spraying in Montcalm County is billed per acre for application only. Product is charged at cost, or you supply it. Michigan drone rates run about $11–22 per acre, with a 2026 typical near $15. Iowa State's 2026 survey found a $12.50 average for drones, and Ohio State's averaged $14.98.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Corn and soybean fungicide or herbicide	from $13/acre	VT and R3 passes
Potato fungicide	from $15/acre	Tight blight intervals
Potato vine desiccation	from $16/acre	Where the label allows aerial use
Dry bean and soybean white mold	from $14/acre	Bloom-timed passes
Cover crop seeding	from $14/acre	After potatoes, silage, beans

Price depends on acres per trip, center pivots and their tracks, tree lines and wires, gallons per acre on the label, and how many blocks fit in one trip. A $250 minimum applies per visit.

Michigan's top potato and vegetable county

The 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture counts 818 farms on 232,558 acres in Montcalm County, averaging 284 acres. Sales reached $307.2 million, 14th in Michigan and up 70% from 2017. Montcalm ranks first in the state for vegetables, melons and potatoes at $76.1 million. Grains, oilseeds and dry beans add $115.2 million and milk $70.2 million. About 74,221 acres, 32% of farmland, are irrigated.

Crop	Acres (2022)
Corn for grain	62,851
Soybeans	38,797
Forage	18,756
Vegetables (mostly potatoes)	18,628
Wheat	17,486

Most of the potatoes are grown for chips. Michigan leads the nation in chip potatoes, and about 70% of the state's crop goes to chipping. MSU's Montcalm Research Center near Lakeview was founded in 1966 on irrigated, light sandy ground. It still anchors local potato research.

Late blight and the potato fungicide schedule

Late blight has hit Montcalm County before. In August 2017 the US-23 strain was found near Edmore, McBride and Vestaburg. MSU then advised spraying every field in the county on a five-day maximum interval with a translaminar product plus a protectant such as chlorothalonil or mancozeb. Tree lines, cable lines, pivot tracks and wet spots carry the highest risk, and growers follow MSU's daily disease severity value forecast. On irrigated sand, a missed or late pass gives the disease room to spread. A drone keeps the interval while pivots are running and leaves no new wheel tracks in the hills.

Colorado potato beetle and vine desiccation

Michigan is one of the regions with confirmed imidacloprid resistance in Colorado potato beetle, so foliar rescue passes need rotated modes of action. At the end of the season, vines are desiccated before harvest. Diquat is labeled for aerial use, with a 7-day pre-harvest interval and a second pass sometimes needed after one to two weeks. Carfentrazone and glufosinate labels call for 5–10 gallons per acre by air, and glufosinate is not used on seed potatoes. Paraquat is ground-only. Pilots fly only where the product label allows aerial application at the volume the drone delivers.

White mold, tar spot and grain passes

Dry beans and soybeans on irrigated ground face white mold pressure in wet, cool bloom periods, so fungicide is timed to early bloom. MSU has confirmed tar spot in Montcalm County, and Michigan's first 2026 case was reported in Jackson County on July 15. Scout corn from mid-July and plan a pass at VT–R2 when lesions appear. Under the 2026 over-the-top dicamba labels (Engenia, Tavium, Stryax), aerial application is prohibited, including drones, so dicamba stays with ground rigs.

Pivots, sand and groundwater

Montcalm County's sandy outwash soils drain fast, so a third of farmland depends on center-pivot irrigation from groundwater. Growers planning new wells use Michigan's Water Withdrawal Assessment Tool. On these soils, products can move down quickly. Pilots stay well away from wellheads, never mix or rinse near wells, and avoid passes ahead of heavy rain. Drones also handle the spots that ground sprayers struggle with: wet pivot tracks, corners and fields under tight irrigation schedules.

Six Lakes, the Flat River and neighbors

The county has 26 lakes with DNR maps, including Crystal, Tamarack, Townline, Muskellunge, Whitefish and Derby. The Flat River starts at First Lake, the last of the Six Lakes chain west of Edmore, and flows about 70 miles past Greenville and Belding. Fields near lakes, the river and cottages get extra buffers and wind checks. Pilots also check Michigan's DriftWatch for organic farms, tomato and grape sites and registered apiaries before every job. Strawberries, pumpkins and cucumbers grown near potato ground are drift-sensitive as well.

Montcalm County season plan

Window	Pass
May–June	Corn and soybean herbicide; early potato beetle
June–August	Potato fungicide on tight intervals
July	Dry bean and soybean white mold at bloom
July–August	Corn fungicide VT–R2
August–September	Potato vine desiccation
September–October	Cover crop seeding after potatoes and silage

Michigan licensing and airfields

Michigan requires commercial drone applicators to hold Core plus the Aerial standard (AE) and the right categories: 1A Field Crops, and 1B Vegetables for potatoes. Pilots need three years and 200 hours of aerial experience, or an MDARD-approved UAV training program. The business holds a Pesticide Application Business License, lists its pilots on its Part 137 certificate and reports a primary mix/load site to MDARD each year. Drones over 55 pounds need a Section 44807 exemption. Greenville Municipal (6D6) is 3 nautical miles south of Greenville, and Lakeview Griffith Field (13C) is a mile northeast of Lakeview. Pilots check NOTAMs and local traffic near both.