Braxton Brand charges about $14 per acre for drone application in central Iowa, matching helicopter rates and sitting above the $10 to $12 his neighbors pay for ground rigs. He expects his price to fall to $13 next year. The 18-year-old from Grinnell runs Brand Aerial, a custom spray business targeting 10,000 to 15,000 acres annually, and the numbers explain why the phone keeps ringing.

Brand is a third-generation farmer. His family grows corn, soybeans and alfalfa. He originally wanted a helicopter for aerial application. The cost pushed him toward drones instead, after he watched a cooperative applicator work the family's fields.

"I watched that and thought it was kind of cool, and then, I kind of dug into it," Brand said.

How the business started

He bought his first spray drone in 2024, planning to use it only on family ground. A wet year changed that plan. He ended up spraying a significant number of custom acres, and the drone covered more of the family's land than the ground rig did.

"The phone kept ringing, and I had free time, and I just went out and started doing it," Brand said. "And then, at the end of the year, we looked around and thought, 'Man, we can build a business out of this.' It has really taken off since then."

Today Brand Aerial operates three spray drones: an EAVision J100, an EA Vision J150 and a DJI T100. Brand also sells EA Vision drones on the side.

What does the drone actually apply?

The core work is fungicide on corn and soybeans. Beyond that, the fleet treats:

• alfalfa and Conservation Reserve Program acres
• timber, ditches, ponds and pastures
• planned expansion into cover crops and specialty crops, including vineyards

Field sizes run from a half-acre to 600 acres. The average field in his area measures about 80 acres. With one drone, Brand considers roughly 400 acres per day a normal workload, though field conditions and other factors shift that capacity.

A schedule built around evaporation

The operating day looks nothing like a ground-rig calendar. Brand starts around 4 or 5 a.m., after checking fields for conflicts such as organic crops and bees. He stops near 11 a.m. because the low application volumes drones use evaporate faster as temperatures climb. He may resume around 4 p.m. and sometimes works through the night. Each cycle ends with rinsing the drone and refilling tanks with water for the next morning.

Drones versus the alternatives

Brand does not frame drones as a replacement. His family still runs a ground rig for herbicide passes. Drones earn their keep after crops emerge and where obstacles complicate other aircraft, since helicopters and airplanes must stay 80 to 100 feet from obstacles while drones can work closer.

"We fly at 13 feet above the crop across the field," Brand said. "I do not know what the helicopter is flying at, but I know it's not as consistent or low as the drone."

Costs in his area rose this year along with fuel. Brand estimated helicopter application at about $14 per acre, airplane at $13 and ground application at $10 to $12. Farmers who buy their own drones trade cash savings and scheduling control for labor — what he calls an added two weeks of work depending on acreage. "In the long run, I do feel it is worth it," he said.

Start small before spending

His advice to would-be operators: talk to existing drone owners before buying equipment or pursuing licenses. Overspending before establishing enough business creates financial pressure. "If you can't keep it busy, you're losing money," Brand said.

He also warns against building the business on fungicide alone, since disease pressure and grain markets drive that demand. He plans to add another trailer and expand pasture work to diversify revenue.

The business serves a longer plan. Brand wants to triple the size of the family farm, and the application income lets him pay himself while farm earnings stay invested in the operation. "Technology, precision ag and maximizing our return on investment per acre are what's going to scale this thing," he said.