Drone Spraying in Lampasas County, TX for Pasture, Hay and Brush

Drone spraying prices in Lampasas County

Drone spraying in Lampasas County, TX is billed per acre, per pass, application only. Operators listed for the county start around $12 per acre for pasture and crop work. Texas A&M's 2026 custom rates survey put airplane and helicopter herbicide work at $12.64 per acre and brush spraying at $19.08 statewide. Our rates:

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Pasture and hay weeds	from $12/acre	Broomweed, broadleaves
Mesquite leaf spray	from $18/acre	Dark-green leaves, warm soil
Pricklypear and cedar follow-up	from $18/acre	Spot and patch work
Fertilizer on hay	from $13/acre	Liquid or dry
Small grain pasture	from $12/acre	Wheat and oats for grazing

Fields under 20 acres are billed as 20 acres, and neighbors can share a trip. Product is billed separately. Quotes reflect terrain, brush density, water and wildlife habitat nearby, and the spray volume on the label.

A livestock county

Lampasas County had 1,076 farms on 448,284 acres in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, averaging 417 acres. Livestock brought in 95% of the $33.1 million in sales.

Livestock or crop	2022
Cattle	27,057 head
Sheep	7,273 head
Goats	6,446 head
Horses	973 head
Hay and forage	10,033 acres
Wheat	675 acres

The county ranked 23rd in Texas for sheep, goats, wool and mohair. With 386 farms of 10–49 acres and 80 of 1,000 acres or more, drone spraying in Lampasas County runs from small hay meadows to large native pastures.

Sheep, goats, pecans and cedar posts

Sheep in the county peaked near 138,000 head in 1940, and goats passed 33,000 by 1930. Pecans have been a key crop since 1917. Lometa, 16.5 miles northwest of Lampasas, once shipped cattle, mohair, wool, pecans and cedar posts, with a cedar short line running from 1913 to 1920.

Limestone benches and a long season

The county rises from about 800 to 1,669 feet, with Grand Prairie limestone benches and shallow, stony clays and loams under live oak, mesquite and juniper, and cacti toward the west. Rainfall averages about 30 inches, the growing season runs about 225 days, and July highs reach around 96°F. AgriLife's Lampasas office runs range, pasture and screwworm programs, including a joint range tour with Mills County.

Mesquite timing

AgriLife's Brush Busters guidance starts mesquite leaf spraying once soil reaches 75°F at 12 inches and leaves turn from pea green to dark green. West of the east and south Texas zones, spraying can run through September. Skip the weeks right after rain flushes new growth, since tender leaves don't move herbicide down to the roots.

Pricklypear and cedar

Heavy pricklypear stands are usually knocked back with broadcast treatment or fire, then followed up a few years later, when individual-plant work can kill about seven of ten plants. Pricklypear also feeds cattle in drought and shelters quail, deer and javelina, so many ranches leave some. Of the two cedars west of I-35, blueberry cedar dies when cut at ground level and redberry must be grubbed; leaf and spot spraying work best on plants under three feet.

Golden-cheeked warbler timing

The endangered golden-cheeked warbler nests only in mixed Ashe juniper and oak woodland west and north of the Balcones Fault, from March 1 through August 31. Where that habitat exists, TPWD guidance says to do brush work outside the breeding season and notes that removing juniper under 15 feet tall and 5 inches across is generally not a problem. Operators map known woodland and schedule nearby work for fall and winter.

Springs and the Trinity Aquifer

Hancock Springs in Lampasas flows about 70 gallons per second at 69°F year-round on Sulphur Creek, a branch of the Lampasas River, alongside Hanna, Cooper and Gold springs. The Saratoga Underground Water Conservation District covers the whole county, relies mainly on the Trinity Aquifer and lists recharge enhancement through brush control as a goal. Operators keep buffers from springs, creeks, the Colorado River on the west line and the Lampasas River in the east.

Drone versus ground boom

In a 2023 AgriLife pasture trial, a drone at 2 gallons per acre and a ground boom at 18 gallons per acre both gave 99% weed control two months after treatment across six herbicides. Low volume means fewer refills on ranches far from water.

A Lampasas County spray year

Window	Typical drone work
February to March	Winter broadleaf weeds in small grain pasture
April to May	Broomweed and pasture weeds, hay fertilizer
May to September	Mesquite once leaves darken and soil warms
September to February	Brush work near warbler woodland
Fall	Pricklypear and cedar follow-up

Licensing and airspace

Drone applicators need a Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) commercial applicator license, and the business holds an FAA Part 137 certificate with Part 107 pilots. Lampasas County is not one of TDA's regulated-herbicide counties. Fort Hood's restricted airspace lies to the east in Bell and Coryell counties, so crews check NOTAMs for fields near the eastern county line.