Crop Spraying in Glenn County, CA by Drone for Rice and Orchards

Crop spraying rates in Glenn County

Crop spraying in Glenn County, CA by drone is priced per acre, per pass, application only. California drone rates run $14–22 per acre for rice and field crops and $18–35 for orchards, with almond fungicide at $15–21 and walnut work at $20–30. California's higher spray volumes, 5–15 gallons per acre in orchards, push costs above Midwest rates. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Rice insecticide and fungicide	from $15/acre	Armyworm, weevil, late fungicide
Levee, edge and check work	from $17/acre	No-fly zones, small checks
Almond and prune fungicide	from $19/acre	Bloom, rust, brown rot
Walnut fungicide and insecticide	from $20/acre	Blight, codling moth
Seeding and spreading	from $14/acre	Cover crops, reseeding

Each visit has a $400 minimum. Product is extra and applied under your PCA's written recommendation. Quotes reflect check size, tree height, nearby refuges and homes and the spray volume on the label.

Almonds, rice and walnuts

Glenn County's 2021 crop report reached $808.7 million, led by three crops:

Commodity	2021 value
Almonds	$229.8 million
Rice	$155.3 million
Walnuts	$112.6 million
Dairy	$68.9 million
Apiary (pollination)	$43.6 million

Rice acres swing with water: 75,500 acres were planted in 2023, against 21,600 in the 2022 drought. Almonds covered about 31,300 acres in 2022. Crop spraying in Glenn County follows rice in the east and orchards around Orland and Hamilton City.

The rice season from the air

Most Sacramento Valley rice is already worked by airplane and helicopter. The usual sequence:

1. Seeding: water-seeded into flooded checks in spring.
2. At or just after planting: tadpole shrimp and rice water weevil, treated at planting or 1–3 days after.
3. Two to three weeks after planting: herbicides for watergrass, sprangletop and sedges.
4. Late June: top-dress fertilizer.
5. Late June–early July and mid-August: armyworm flights.
6. By late August: fungicide where disease is present.

Where drones fit in rice

Drones don't replace the ag planes that cover big rice blocks. They fill the gaps:

• Small and odd checks where turning an airplane wastes product.
• Levees and field edges next to roads, canals and homes.
• No-fly zones where manned aircraft can't work, such as fields under power lines or near towns.
• Fields beside refuges that need tight drift control.
• Spot treatment of weed escapes or armyworm hot spots.

Rice herbicide permit rules

DPR's rice permit conditions are strict in Glenn County:

• Thiobencarb: in the northern Sacramento Valley, water is held 30 days, then released under control through day 37. Liquid formulations can't be applied by air in Glenn and Colusa counties north of Highway 20 and west of the Sacramento River. No aerial application within half a mile of the Sacramento River when wind exceeds 7 mph. Growers complete stewardship training before a permit is issued.
• Phenoxy herbicides and dicamba on rice: fixed-wing and helicopter application is banned April 1 to October 15, and applications aren't allowed within 2 miles of cotton, grapes or pistachios.

Operators check every permit condition with your PCA and the Agricultural Commissioner before a drone flies a restricted material.

Almond, walnut and prune timing

Crop	Window	Target
Almonds	February–March	Bloom fungicide
Almonds	1% hull split	Navel orangeworm, plus a second spray 10–21 days later
Walnuts	Catkin to bloom (April–May)	Walnut blight
Walnuts	April–June	Codling moth, by degree-days
Walnuts	July–August	Walnut husk fly
Prunes	Bloom	Brown rot
Prunes	Summer	Rust

Ground rigs use 150–200 gallons per acre at hull split, so drone passes there are set by the label and your PCA's coverage target. Drones fit bloom sprays, edge trees and treetops, and orchards too wet to drive.

Refuges, rivers and bees

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge covers about 10,800 acres south of Willows, and the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District serves about 25,000 acres of refuge land among its rice ground. The Sacramento River and Stony Creek run along farm fields, and beekeeping is worth more than $40 million a year to the county. Operators map refuges, canals, drains, hives and homes as no-spray zones and fly low with coarse droplets.

Schools and SprayDays

California's quarter-mile school rule explicitly covers manned and unmanned aircraft, and from January 1, 2026, notices must list the planned application method, dates and times. Restricted-material applications go on CalAgPermits and appear on SprayDays 24 hours ahead. Fields near schools in Orland, Willows and Hamilton City are booked for evenings or weekends.

California licensing for drone application

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) requires a Qualified Applicator Certificate plus an Unmanned Pest Control Aircraft Pilot Certificate. Pilots start at Apprentice and can move to Journeyman after a year and 50 hours of supervised application. Operators need a Pest Control Business license and must register with the Glenn County Agricultural Commissioner before working in the county. The FAA requires Part 107, Part 137 and a Section 44807 exemption for drones over 55 pounds.