Ag Drone Services in Palo Pinto County, TX for Brush, Hay and Pasture

Ag drone services pricing in Palo Pinto County

Ag drone services in Palo Pinto County are quoted per acre for application only. Product is billed at cost, or you supply it. The Texas A&M AgriLife 2026 Custom Rate Survey puts North region aerial herbicide at $9.27 per acre and statewide aerial brush at $19.08. Drone operators serving the county quote from $12 per acre.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Pasture broadleaf herbicide	from $11/acre	Broadcast or spot
Bermudagrass hay insect passes	from $10/acre	Armyworm, stem maggot
Mesquite leaf spray	from $17/acre	At least 4 GPA
Pricklypear spot or broadcast	from $18/acre	Picloram-based mixes
Pecan orchard passes	from $18/acre	Casebearer timing

Price depends on terrain, brush density, tanks and creeks, the gallons per acre on the label, and how far apart the pastures are between Mineral Wells, Gordon and Graford. Jobs are billed on a 25-acre minimum per trip.

Palo Pinto County is ranch country

The 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture counts 1,147 farms on 608,448 acres in Palo Pinto County, with an average of 530 acres. Livestock produces 91% of the county's $48.6 million in sales, and cattle alone account for $40.2 million from about 47,400 head. Horses, goats and sheep add smaller herds. Pasture covers 465,521 acres, against 62,486 acres of cropland.

Crop	Acres (2022)
Hay and haylage	19,056
Wheat for grain	2,712
Pecans	971

Almost all spray work here is grass: keeping brush and weeds out of pasture and protecting bermudagrass hay meadows.

Mesquite windows in the Western Cross Timbers

Palo Pinto County sits in the Western Cross Timbers, where mesquite moves into open pasture. Leaf sprays work only when soil 12–18 inches deep reaches at least 75°F, and above 80°F is better. The best windows are 42–63 days after bud break, when yellow flowers and dark green leaves show (late May to mid-June), and 72–84 days after bud break, when beans have elongated (early July). Aerial application should be made in winds of 2–10 mph, below 95°F and above 20% relative humidity. Use at least 4 gallons of total spray per acre, and never spray flushing or drought-stressed foliage. On steep hills around the Palo Pinto Mountains and Possum Kingdom, a drone reaches mesquite a tractor can't.

Pricklypear works; cedar needs other tools

Pricklypear. In a 2026 AgriLife study, broadcast picloram at about 32 ounces per acre killed 73% of pricklypear and a full rate of picloram plus fluroxypyr plus aminopyralid killed 78%. Individual-plant treatment at 1% reached up to 98%. Mortality takes two to three years to show, so judge results on that timeline.

Ashe juniper (cedar). AgriLife is clear that aerial sprays aimed at mesquite or pricklypear rarely kill Ashe or redberry juniper. Cedar does not resprout, so cutting at the soil line, fire on plants under 4 feet, or individual-plant soil-applied picloram or hexazinone work better. Operators will tell you plainly when a drone is not the right tool.

Fall armyworm and stem maggot in bermudagrass

Fall armyworm. AgriLife treats at 2–3 larvae half an inch or longer per square foot. The last two to three days of feeding cause about 80% of the damage, so speed matters. Spray in early morning or late evening. Pre-harvest intervals differ: chlorantraniliprole 0 days, lambda-cyhalothrin and methoxyfenozide 7 days for hay.

Bermudagrass stem maggot. A pyrethroid 7–10 days after cutting is the standard timing. The threshold is about 16% of stems damaged at $140-per-ton hay, or 22% at $100 per ton. Each 1% of damaged stems costs about 8.9 pounds of hay per acre.

A drone treats hay meadows right after cutting without running wheels over the regrowth.

Palo Pinto County pecan casebearer timing

Palo Pinto County has 971 acres of pecans. In North Texas, pecan nut casebearer traps go up by May 1, and most eggs are laid from late May to early June. First nut entry comes at about 1,831 heat units. AgriLife treats when two or more of 310 sampled clusters are infested. Bottomland orchards along the Brazos often sit wet in spring, and a drone keeps the pass on time.

Possum Kingdom, Lake Palo Pinto and burn scars

Possum Kingdom Lake covers 16,716 acres behind Morris Sheppard Dam (1941). Lake Palo Pinto covers 2,399 acres, and the new Palo Pinto Mountains State Park near Strawn opened in March 2026 with the 90-acre Tucker Lake. Pilots keep buffers around all of them, stock tanks and creeks, and fly with wind blowing away from water and homes. Fire has shaped much of this land. The 2011 PK Complex burned 126,734 acres across Palo Pinto, Young and Stephens counties, and the county had 123 wildfires in 2022, the largest being the 11,598-acre Dempsey Fire. Burned pasture often comes back with weeds and brush sprouts, and spot passes by drone help get grass established again.

Texas rules and Mineral Wells airspace

Palo Pinto County is not a TDA regulated-herbicide county under 4 TAC §7.53, and neither are Parker, Erath, Eastland, Stephens, Young, Jack or Hood. No county permit is needed for 2,4-D, though label limits and drift liability still apply. For-hire drone work requires a TDA commercial applicator license with the Aerial Application category and a site category such as Pasture & Rangeland. Operators also need FAA Part 107 and Part 137 certification and a Section 44807 exemption for drones of 55 pounds or more. Mineral Wells Regional (MWL), the former Fort Wolters helicopter school, has no tower but sees helicopter traffic. Possum Kingdom Airport (F35) lies west of Graford. Pilots check NOTAMs and local traffic before every job.