Drone cover crop seeding
A drone broadcasts cover crop seed straight into your standing cereal or OSR — weeks before the combine goes in. No tractor pass, no compaction, no waiting for the ground to carry weight.
How it differs from a drill
- Into standing crop. You get a 2 to 4 week head start on establishment versus drilling after harvest. By the time you combine, the cover is already away.
- No compaction. The drone never touches the ground, so heavy or wet land is no problem.
- Awkward parcels. Sloping, fragmented or oddly-shaped fields are treated the same as easy ones.
- Throughput. Around 10 to 15 hectares an hour in the field, using an XAG P100 Pro with the RevoCast granule hopper.
Where the drone doesn't win: dry, accessible stubble where you've got a rake and drill ready to go. Conventional kit is cheaper per hectare on that ground. Drone work is complementary to your kit, not a replacement.
SFI economics
Using SFI 2024 published rates as a worked example:
- CSAM2 (multi-species winter cover): £129/ha/year. Drone seeding at around £60/ha leaves you roughly £69/ha ahead before counting any other benefit.
- CIPM3 (companion crop on arable): £55/ha/year.
SFI is currently closed to new applications. SFI26 reopens in two windows during 2026 — small farms first, then everyone else. Rates and action codes are changing, so check the live gov.uk handbook before committing.
Pricing
Indicative drone seeding rates are around £40 to £75 per hectare depending on area, access and seed mix. Tell us about your job and we'll come back with a firm number.
Common questions
How early can a drone fly into a standing crop? Most pilots will go in 2 to 4 weeks before harvest, depending on canopy and crop height.
What seeds work well from a drone? Anything that broadcasts and germinates without burial — mustard, phacelia, vetch, clover, buckwheat, oats and rye are all routine. Larger or heavier seed (beans, peas) is less reliable from the air.
Is it legal? Yes. Seed isn't a regulated substance, so this sits inside the standard CAA Operational Authorisation that AutoSpray Systems holds.
Thinking of buying a drone with FETF? The 2026 grant gives £14,476 towards a farm drone. For cover crop seeding specifically, you'd need roughly 600+ hectares a year before owning beats hiring. Read the honest maths →