Custom Planting and Spraying Rates Farmers Actually Pay
Custom planting with a high-speed planter now averages $31.25 an acre in Iowa, yet quotes span $14 to $56. Here’s what drives the gap.
Table of Contents
This guide covers custom hire rates for row-crop planters, grain drills, and ground, aerial, and drone sprayers, drawn from 2024–2026 university surveys. The engine’s emissions era doesn’t change these numbers, because every rate already includes fuel.
In Iowa State’s 2026 survey, custom planting rates average $26.50 to $31.25 per acre depending on planter setup. Custom spraying averages $8.50 to $12.50 per acre before chemical. Those figures come from 205 respondents and include fuel and operator labor.
- Hiring out planting or spraying? Start with the two rate tables below.
- Pricing your own custom work? Jump to how to set your own rate.
- Need hourly rates for other machines? See our breakdown of equipment rates by machine.
💵 About These Numbers: Iowa figures come from Iowa State University’s 2026 Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey, collected in February 2026 with diesel assumed at $2.89 per gallon. Other states’ figures are labeled by survey year. Rates vary with region, field size, timeliness, and fuel price, so treat them as orientation rather than a quote.
📋 Compliance Note: Applying restricted-use pesticides for hire requires certification under federal rule 40 CFR Part 171, administered by your state. Many states require certification for any commercial pesticide application. Verify with your state pesticide agency before offering spraying for hire.
What custom planting costs per acre by planter type
In Iowa’s survey, the planter setup moves the rate more than anything else.
Row-crop planters: conventional, no-till, high-speed
| Planter setup | Avg. rate/acre | Range | Responses | What It Means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No attachments | $26.50 | $15–$38 | 69 | Baseline conventional planting |
| Fertilizer + insecticide attachments | $29.60 | $16–$50 | 47 | About $3 more than baseline |
| No-till planter | $29.10 | $15–$46 | 76 | Most responses of any setup |
| High-speed planter | $31.25 | $14–$56 | 71 | Highest average, widest spread |
Source: Iowa State’s 2026 custom rate survey (AgDM File A3-10), collected February 2026. Ranges exclude the single highest and lowest responses.
A high-speed planter quote can land anywhere in a $42 spread. Ask what’s driving a quote at either end.
Add-on charges and drilling rates
Add-ons are billed on top of the base rate:
- Seed shut-offs average $3.75 per acre.
- Variable-rate seeding averages $3.90.
- A seed tender averages $5.05.
Drilling costs less than planting. No-till soybean drilling averages $24.15, and cover crop drilling averages $19.05.
Custom spraying rates: ground, aerial and drone
Every rate below covers application only. The chemical is billed separately.
Tractor vs self-propelled vs tall-crop
| Method | Avg. rate/acre | Range | Responses | What It Means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tractor, broadcast | $8.50 | $5–$14 | 35 | Lowest average |
| Self-propelled, broadcast | $9.35 | $5–$18 | 121 | Most responses; the market benchmark |
| Self-propelled, tall-crop | $11.15 | $6–$20 | 65 | About $1.80 over standard self-propelled |
| Aerial | $12.00 | $9–$18 | 54 | No ground contact |
| Drone | $12.50 | $8–$16 | 47 | First year in the survey |
Source: Iowa State University Extension, 2026 Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey. Materials not included.
Aerial and drone: now roughly the same price
Drone spraying isn’t cheaper per acre in this survey. It averaged 50 cents more than aerial application. If you hire labor rather than a full service, the survey puts spraying labor at $24.45 per hour.
⚠️ Watch Out: A quote of $25 per acre next to one of $10 may simply include chemical. Before comparing, ask each operator in writing whether materials are included.
Custom planting rates in other states
Iowa is one market, and neighboring states’ surveys run lower on older data.
Nebraska, Kansas and Indiana planting rates
- Nebraska (2024 report):
- No-till row planting without coulters or band applicators averaged $23.94 per acre.
- The most common rate was $25.
- See the Nebraska custom rates report.
- Kansas (2024):
- Minimum-till or no-till corn row planting, without fertilizer or chemical, averaged $21.80, up $1.38 from 2022.
- See the Kansas custom rates survey.
- Indiana (Purdue, reported November 2025):
- No-till soybeans in 15-inch rows averaged $21.94 across 31 respondents.
Definitions and years differ, so don’t compare these line by line with Iowa’s $29.10 no-till rate.
How fast rates are rising
Iowa’s pre-harvest operations, including planting and spraying, rose 8.5% from 2025 to 2026. Ohio’s 2026 survey showed corn planting with fertilizer up 4% and self-propelled spraying up 7% from 2024.
✅ Do This: Pull your own state’s extension custom rate survey before quoting or accepting a rate. Local supply of machines shapes price more than any national figure.
What pushes a custom rate higher or lower
Survey averages hide the conditions behind each individual quote.
Field size, timeliness and machine availability
Iowa State lists the variables that move rates:
- how many machines are available locally
- timeliness
- operator skill
- field size and shape
- crop conditions
- machine performance
Small or irregular fields cut acres covered per hour, which raises cost per acre. You can estimate your acres per hour before quoting.
Adjusting for diesel since the survey
🔍 Why It Happens: Survey rates lock in the diesel price at the time of collection, which was $2.89 in February 2026. Farm diesel rose from $2.59 in January to $3.12 by March 2026. Iowa State estimates each $0.50-per-gallon increase raises total machinery costs by about 5%.
To adjust a rate, multiply the gallons the operation burns per acre by the change in diesel price. Iowa State’s Fuel Required for Field Operations publication lists per-acre fuel use by operation.
How to set your own planting or spraying rate
Price up from your own costs, then check the result against the market:
- Calculate your cost per acre: ownership, repairs, fuel, and labor.
- Add a 5–15% margin.
- Compare the result with your state survey’s median.
- Adjust for fuel changes and any add-ons.
Start from your cost, then add 5–15%
University of Illinois farmdoc’s field operation cost estimates cover all costs but no profit. farmdoc recommends adding 5 to 15 percent when setting custom rates. Run your own numbers through the equipment cost-per-hour calculator. For the same logic applied to general field work, see what to charge for tractor work.
Worked check: self-propelled spraying
📉 Cost Reality: farmdoc estimates self-propelled spraying costs $6.10 per acre. Adding 5–15% gives $6.41 to $7.02. Iowa’s 2026 market median is $9.00. Data: farmdoc machinery cost estimates (late 2025 release) and Iowa State 2026 survey (February 2026).
Method: We applied farmdoc’s recommended margin to its published cost and compared the result with Iowa’s survey rate. The two sources differ in state, year, and scale, and farmdoc assumes 8,028 sprayed acres a year. If your own cost runs above your state’s median, you need more acres, or you can’t compete on price.
Do you need a license to spray for hire?
Custom spraying carries a licensing step that planting doesn’t.
Applicator certification basics
Under EPA’s applicator certification rules, restricted-use pesticides may be applied only by a certified applicator or someone under their direct supervision. States issue the certification, and many require it for any commercial application.
When hiring out beats owning a sprayer
farmdoc’s cost figures assume a $543,689 self-propelled sprayer covering 8,028 acres a year. Spraying far fewer acres spreads that overhead thinly, so hiring at $9–$11 per acre usually costs less than owning.
✅ Do This: Call your state department of agriculture’s pesticide program. Ask which commercial certification category covers custom agricultural spraying.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is the average custom planting rate per acre?
In Iowa State’s 2026 survey, custom planting rates average $26.50 to $31.25 per acre, depending on planter setup and attachments.
2. How much does custom spraying cost per acre?
Custom spraying averages $8.50 per acre by tractor and $9.35 by self-propelled sprayer in Iowa’s 2026 survey, chemical not included.
3. Does custom spraying include the chemical?
No. Iowa State’s custom spraying rates cover application only. The chemical is billed separately, so confirm what any quote includes.
4. Is drone spraying cheaper than aerial spraying?
Not per acre. Iowa’s 2026 survey averaged drone spraying at $12.50 per acre, versus $12.00 for aerial application.
5. How much extra is variable-rate seeding on custom planting?
Variable-rate seeding adds an average of $3.90 per acre to custom planting in Iowa State’s 2026 survey.
6. Do custom planting rates include fuel and labor?
Yes. Iowa State’s 2026 custom planting rates include fuel and operator labor, based on a $2.89-per-gallon diesel assumption.
7. How do I adjust custom rates for higher diesel prices?
Multiply per-acre fuel use by the diesel price change. Iowa State estimates each $0.50 rise lifts machinery costs about 5%.
8. How much markup should I add to my custom rate?
University of Illinois farmdoc recommends adding 5 to 15 percent to your estimated per-acre cost when setting a custom rate.
9. Do I need a license to do custom spraying?
Restricted-use pesticides require a certified applicator, and many states require certification for any commercial spraying. Check with your state pesticide agency.
10. What does a high-speed planter cost to hire?
Custom planting with a high-speed planter averages $31.25 per acre in Iowa’s 2026 survey, with a range of $14 to $56.
Pricing your next pass
Iowa’s 2026 averages put custom planting at $26.50–$31.25 per acre and spraying at $8.50–$12.50 before chemical. Check your own state’s survey, adjust for diesel, and build your price up from cost. Harvest work is priced the same way; see our guide to custom combining rates per acre.
