How to Start an Agricultural Drone Business in New Zealand
Share
Farmers and growers are looking for more accurate, responsive, and cost-effective ways to apply product. Spray drones offer exactly that, and this opens up an opportunity to build a profitable business around it. Most of the people that reach out to us don’t know where to start so we pulled together a guide by 4 years of us talking to our Ag Drone operators about how they got started.
A lot of people start with investigating drone models, however the proper first question is:
Can you actually make money doing this in New Zealand? Yes.
Here's how the numbers stack up
While most US drone businesses focus on large-scale broadacre spraying, New Zealand's landscape offers a more diverse and often more lucrative opportunity. Not all jobs are big hectares and sometimes that’s actually where the money can be. There is good work doing pasture and small crop spraying to spot spraying gorse, blackberry, ragwort, and even small block horticulture or lifestyle properties.
Scenario 1: Broadacre work
If you're doing paddock spraying or crops, you’ll often be charging per hectare.
• Typical rate: $65–95 per hectare
• Daily output: 40–60 hectares (depending on terrain, paddock layout, and your setup)
• Daily revenue: $1700–$2,500+
• Seasonal potential: $80,000–$120,000 over a 18–22 week spray season
Costs are relatively low once you’re set up: most operators use farm-supplied chemical, and easy access to water. The site generally has good access and mapping is straight forward for automated flying. This means the drone is running at it best efficiency.
Scenario 2: Targeted work (high-margin)
This is where New Zealand is more unique. Many jobs aren't about acreage, they’re more about access and accuracy.
• Jobs: Spraying on hillsides, targeted weed patches, inaccessible gullies, wet areas
• Typical rate: $450–$650 per hour, often with a minimum callout or gate to gate
• Output: 3–10 hectares/hour depending on conditions, often including ferrying between small sites
• Clients: Farmers, lifestyle block owners, orchardists, regional councils, DOC contractors
These jobs are fast, high-margin, and often underserviced. The ability to treat steep, sensitive, or isolated areas with zero ground impact gives drone operators a clear advantage over boom sprayers or helicopters.
Startup costs and what you’ll need
A typical entry-level setup includes:
• Drone: DJI Agras T50 or similar — $35,000–$55,000 depending on config
• Transport/trailer/tank/pump: $5,000-$25,000 depending on what you already own
• CAA certification & training: $9,000-$12,000 (if using DroneTrust or similar)
Total investment: around $65,000–$85,000, depending on how turnkey you want to be from day one. Many operators recover this in their first spray season, especially if they combine both broadacre and targeted work.
How much do you make?
Based on the above scenarios most of our members bill $100,000 - $150,000 first year and it increases each years to more like $250,000. If you amortise the startup over 3 yrs to $30,000 and then include overheads of 40-50% you end up with a reasonable return in the $100,000+ region. This takes a lot of hard work though.
Who’s this business suited to?
If you’re one or more of the following, you’re in a great position to succeed:
• A farmer or contractor already working on the land, looking to expand services
• A weed spraying contractor wanting a safer and more efficient alternative to foot or heli-based spraying
• A young entrepreneur looking for a niche with relatively low capital and high reward
• A tech-minded worker (even with no ag background) willing to learn spray patterns, client needs, and farm timing
You don’t need to have years of Ag experience — but you do need a good attitude, attention to detail, willingness to work hard, and the ability to build trust with clients.
How to build the business (and not just fly the drone)
Starting a drone spraying business is more than just buying a drone and showing up. Here’s what we see that sets the successful operators apart:
1. Learn the spray craft
What You'll Need to Learn to Be a Good Spray Operator
You’ll need to get good at:
• Calibration and flow control
Choosing the right height, speed, pump rate, etc to get best coverage, and understanding how tank mix and product type affect your spray pattern.
• Drift management
Wind, droplet size, altitude, and flight speed all impact where your spray actually lands. You’ll need to learn how to minimise drift and operate within safe and effective conditions.
• Spray coverage and overlap
Uniform coverage matters. You’ll need to plan your swaths and overlaps so you don’t leave stripes or double-dose edges, especially on uneven ground or in variable crop heights.
• Product mixing and handling
It’s essential to mix accurately, handle chemicals safely, and follow best practice when working with different formulations. You’re expected to work clean and in compliance.
• Chemical handling and Labels
You need to have a good understanding of what chemical gives the best result and how best to apply it.
• Flight planning for application
Adjusting for different fields, crops, and jobs. That means setting correct speed, altitude, and flow rates for each application, and being ready to adjust if conditions change mid-job.
These skills take practice and they’re what separates the top guys.
2. Get certified
You’ll need to meet several regulatory and quality standards before starting to charge for spray jobs in NZ. Here’s what that involves:
1. Operator Certificate (UAOC)
You must obtain a CAA part 102 issued certification that allows you to fly a drone above 25kg. This requires submitting a detailed Exposition (your safety manual). This manual will outline you pathway to becoming an Ag rated Pilot
2. Pilot Competency
Any person flying under your UAOC must hold:
o A Part 102 RPAS Pilot Certificate
o A Chemical Handling Qualification
o An Agricultural UAV Rating
o And successfully complete an Operational Competency Assessment (OCA) aligned with your exposition
The Agricultural Drone Association offers exposition writing services. Drone Trust offers online training and support to get certified and compliant quickly.
3. Get your trailer and systems sorted
The most profitable operators are fast and professional. That means:
• Refilling in under 2 minutes
• Batteries always ready
• Clear signage, PPE, SDS folder, safety cones, and procedures
This gives farmers confidence, avoids downtime, and makes you more referable. To make this happen you need a well setup rig that has facilities for carrying water and pre-mixing chemical. In our experience you should not go overboard on this setup until you have been operating for a while and know what type of work you do the most of.
4. Market like a contractor, not a tech company
You don’t need a flashy drone website. You need:
• A Facebook page with photos of you spraying
• A Google My Business listing that says “Drone spraying services – [Your Region]”
• Relationships with rural supply stores, agronomists, and contractors
• A few satisfied clients to tell their neighbours about you
This is a reputation game. Be reliable, be on time, and solve the farmer’s problem — they’ll spread the word.
Final thoughts
Starting a spray drone business in New Zealand is not a get-rich-quick scheme. But with the right gear, good systems, and a bit of hustle, you can turn it into a profitable, rewarding operation that works around your lifestyle and scales at your pace.
The opportunity is real, especially in a country where terrain, weather, and land-use diversity create a perfect environment for drone spraying to outperform tractors, trucks and aircraft in more and more jobs.
If you're serious, get an exposition lodged, get trained, get certified, and get a drone. There’s a good business waiting to be built and the sooner you’re in the air, the sooner you’re ahead of the pack.
