Drone Spraying in Kerr County, TX for Pasture, Brush and Giant Cane

Drone spraying prices in Kerr County

Drone spraying in Kerr County, TX is quoted per acre, application only. Drone operators serving the county start at about $12 per acre, one with a 20-acre minimum. Texas A&M AgriLife's 2026 custom rate survey puts aerial herbicide at $12.64 per acre statewide and aerial brush spraying at $19.08. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Pasture broadleaf herbicide	from $13/acre	Label-timed
Seeding and fertilizer	from $14/acre	Material billed separately
Brush and regrowth	from $18/acre	Higher spray volume
Riparian and giant cane	from $20/acre	Aquatic-labeled products only

Each visit has a $225 minimum, and neighbors can share a trip. Product is billed separately. Quotes reflect slope, brush density, distance to water and the spray volume on the label.

Goats, sheep, exotics and pasture

Livestock brought in 90% of Kerr County's $11.2 million in farm sales in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, and pasture covers about 81% of its 390,194 acres in farms.

Livestock or land use	2022
Goats	8,800 head
Cattle	7,949 head
Sheep	5,567 head
Horses	950 head
Pasture	316,767 acres
Woodland	45,311 acres

Goats outnumber cattle, and the county ranks 11th in Texas for "other animals" sales. Organized in 1856, the county covers about 1,107 square miles and had 52,598 residents in 2020. Drone spraying in Kerr County is about pasture, brush and river frontage rather than row crops.

Giant cane along the Guadalupe

Arundo donax, or giant cane, crowds out native plants along the upper Guadalupe. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority and Texas Parks and Wildlife run the Healthy Creeks Initiative, a voluntary program that began as a pilot in 2015, had more than 380 landowners by 2024 and covers about 300 stream miles in eight counties; treatment is free in priority areas, and elephant ear was added in 2025. Landowners outside the program can treat their own cane following TPWD's rules below.

How giant cane is treated

• Products: glyphosate, imazapyr or imazamox labeled for Arundo; below the high-water mark, only aquatic-labeled products.
• Timing: foliar sprays from April to October, while cane is actively growing, never when drought-stressed.
• Notice: a treatment proposal to TPWD about 30 days ahead, public notice at least 14 days ahead, and notice to any drinking-water intake within 2 miles.
• Follow-up: full control takes several years; leave treated cane undisturbed for at least a year.

A drone treats dense cane stands on steep banks without crews wading in or cutting access.

North Fork, South Fork and a flood-prone river

The North and South Forks of the Guadalupe meet at Hunt, and the river has seen major floods in 1932, 1987 and July 2025. Riverbanks, low-water crossings and camps along the corridor are mapped carefully before any riparian work, and operators keep spray off open water unless the product and permits allow it.

Kerr Wildlife Management Area

TPWD's Kerr Wildlife Management Area covers 6,459 acres near Hunt at the head of the North Fork. Acquired in 1950, it is home to the Donnie E. Harmel White-tailed Deer Research Facility, with more than 40 years of research on Hill Country deer. State land like this is mapped as a no-spray zone.

Do drones control weeds as well as booms?

In a 2023 AgriLife trial in Van Zandt County, a drone spraying 2 gallons per acre and a boom spraying 18 gallons per acre were compared on pasture weeds with six herbicides, including DuraCor and GrazonNext HL. Two months after treatment, both reached 99% control.

Field conditions

Field condition	Tractor sprayer	Spray drone
Steep riverbanks	No safe access	Flies over
Rocky hill pasture	Rough ride, flat tires	Follows terrain
Scattered brush	Slow hand work	Spot-sprays from the map
Small fenced pastures	Hard to turn	Mapped edges

Herbicide rules and registries

Kerr County isn't on TDA's regulated-herbicide list, and neither are Gillespie, Kendall, Bandera, Kimble, Real or Edwards. Operators check FieldWatch's DriftWatch and BeeCheck before every job and map homes, gardens and Kerrville-Schreiner Park's 517 acres as no-spray zones; the park opened as a state park in 1936 and returned to the City of Kerrville in 2004.

A Kerr County spray year

Window	Typical drone work
March to May	Spring broadleaf weeds
April to October	Giant cane while actively growing
May to July	Brush and regrowth
Late summer	Pasture weeds, hay pests

Texas licensing and airspace

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) requires Category 9, Aerial, paired with another category: 1C Pasture and Rangeland covers adjacent riparian areas, and Category 6 Aquatic covers riparian areas when water is present. The FAA requires Part 107, Part 137 and a Section 44807 exemption for drones of 55 pounds or more. Kerrville Municipal Airport, Louis Schreiner Field, sits about six miles southeast of town with a 6,004-foot main runway, so crews check airspace for fields nearby.