M&A activity snapshot
Farm production services are a large market made up mostly of small owner-operated firms. U.S. farms reported 10,051,136 (in $1,000) of customwork and custom hauling expense in 2022, up from 7,555,434 in 2017. By Axia arithmetic, that is about $10.05 billion, up from about $7.56 billion. Farms are hiring out more of their field work rather than owning every machine.
The supply side is fragmented. In NAICS 115112, which covers custom spraying, fertilizer application and planting, Census counted 2,142 firms with 4,597,652 (in $1,000) of 2022 receipts; 2,016 of those firms had fewer than 20 employees. Machine crop harvesting (NAICS 115113) adds 374 firms. Across all support activities for crop production, Census counted 5,072 employer establishments in 2023. These counts exclude the many custom operators with no employees.
Aerial application is its own niche. The National Agricultural Aviation Association counts 1,560 aerial application businesses, and 87% of operators are pilots themselves. The association estimates that 127 million acres of cropland are aerially treated each year, about 28% of cropland in production. Those figures come from its 2019 survey.
No major lower-middle-market data provider tracks deal volume or multiples for this vertical. Visible transactions are small and often undisclosed. In August 2025, Rantizo sold its drone spraying operations business to a specialized investment group with experience in aerial application services, with no terms disclosed.
Who is buying
Ag retailers and cooperatives. Retailers already run large application fleets. In the 2025 CropLife/Purdue dealer survey, respondents custom applied inputs on an average 330,000 acres, and 78% of fertilizer sales and 51% of crop protection sales were custom applied. Buying a local applicator adds equipment, certified operators and acres in a new trade area.
Neighboring operators. Most transfers of custom application and harvesting businesses go to nearby operators that want the customer list, the aircraft or machines, and the certified staff. These deals are usually private and unreported.
Drone networks. Drone platforms are building scale through acquisitions and partnerships. American Drone Network acquired CropFlight, a flight logging and operational management platform, and says this helped establish the nation's largest agricultural drone pilot network.
Independent sponsors and search funds. The pitch for these buyers is recurring seasonal demand and owner-operators near retirement. The main risks are equipment cost, weather and keeping certified operators after the owner leaves.
What buyers look for
Contracted, repeat acres. Buyers want to see the same growers rebooking season after season, spread across enough customers and crops to absorb a bad year in any one of them.
Fleet productivity. Aircraft and machines are the core assets. NAAA reports an average of 2.3 aircraft per aerial business, ranging in price from $100,000 to nearly $2 million, and in a 12-hour day an aircraft treats 1,800 acres while a ground rig treats 450. Buyers measure acres per machine and price per acre against those benchmarks.
Pricing against local rates. In Iowa's 2026 custom rate survey, aerial spraying averaged $12.00 per acre, drone spraying $12.50 and self-propelled ground broadcast $9.35. A business charging below its state survey with full utilization has pricing room. One charging above it may lose acres to drone crews.
Drone exposure, in both directions. Drone capacity is growing faster than demand. The American Spray Drone Coalition estimates 16.4 million acres treated in 2025, with average acres per operator flat at 9,584 and the average price per acre down 38%, from $21 to $13. Equipment supply is also uncertain. By DJI's own 2024 estimate, roughly four out of every five ag spray drones used by U.S. farmers were DJI-made, and in August 2026 new tariffs of up to 100% hit certain imported drones.
What makes a strong company
A farm services business that can sell for more than its equipment value typically has:
- Certified applicators beyond the owner. Ag pilots must hold commercial pilot licenses, be registered as commercial pesticide applicators in each state they work, and meet FAA Part 137. A business where only the owner holds those credentials is hard to sell.
- Current state certifications for every applicator. Many states require all commercial applicators, not only those using restricted-use pesticides, to be certified.
- Clean FAA standing for drone work, including the right exemption for the aircraft weight class. FAA has said some exemption holders have conducted commercial agricultural operations in a manner noncompliant with their exemption.
- A dependable seasonal labor plan. H-2A certified positions grew from just over 48,000 in fiscal 2005 to around 385,000 in fiscal 2024, and buyers will check that visa paperwork and housing are in order.
- Equipment maintenance logs and a replacement schedule, so a buyer can price the next capital outlay.
Valuation and deal structure
Axia found no public source that reports transaction multiples for custom application, aerial application or custom harvesting businesses. The nearest published figure is a proxy: Capstone Partners reports that agri-inputs transactions averaged 2.4x EV/Revenue and 12.0x EV/EBITDA in 2024-YTD 2026. That sample is product and input businesses, which are larger and less owner-dependent than most service firms.
For small operators, the pattern buyers describe is asset value plus a premium for contracted acres and retained staff. Expect a buyer to:
- Get aircraft and machinery appraised separately, often with financing tied to the equipment.
- Tie part of the price to customer retention through the next one or two seasons, using an earnout or seller note.
- Ask the owner to keep flying or operating through at least one transition season.
Sellers should treat these as common structures, not a sourced benchmark.
Outlook
Through 2027, rising demand for hired field work will compete with falling per-acre prices. Farm spending on customwork grew from 7,555,434 to 10,051,136 (in $1,000) between 2017 and 2022, and retailers keep moving application in-house. Drone capacity is still adding competition, but the equipment supply is getting harder to secure.
Regulation will shift as well. FAA's proposed Part 108 rule says part 137 does not apply to aircraft operated under part 108, which would move drone application into a separate framework. Hardware-heavy models carry risk: Guardian Agriculture raised $51.7 million and ceased operations in late August 2025. The aircraft supply base is consolidating too: Air Tractor Holdings acquired Thrush Aircraft. Operators with certified crews, mixed aerial, ground and drone capacity, and repeat acres are the most likely to attract a retailer or sponsor buyer.
Own a custom application or harvesting business? Run the valuation tool for a market-data starting point, or return to the Agriculture & Agribusiness M&A overview. See also: how search funds source owner-operated businesses.