With no-tillers among agriculture’s most impressive innovators, they definitely see the value in making timely application of pesticides, biologicals and liquid fertilizers. In most instances, this means owing a self-propelled or pull-type sprayer when timing is critical, such as with an unexpected plant disease outbreak.

Asa result, most no-tillers don’t rely on a local ag chemical dealer to get the job done due to the extensive number of acres these ag retailers are already tackling for other farmers. 

When a no-tiller scouting a field recognizes the need to immediately spray a fungicide for a serious disease outbreak, he or she doesn’t want to wait 10 days for an ag chemical dealer to handle the work.

An example of how no-till has led to the need to own your own sprayer was evident in a recent conversation with a Corn Belt grower who has been no-tilling for 25 years. While this grower no-tilled 3,000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat this year, he covered an amazing 21,000 acres on this same ground with his John Deere self-propelled sprayer equipped with a 120-foot boom. 

He’s doing what I’ve witnessed experienced no-tillers doing for many years: Once a no-tillers have their own sprayer, they quickly find new reasons to spray multiple times during the growing season with liquid fertilizer, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and biologicals. 

Check the Math

This no-tiller says ag chemical dealers in his area charge $7.50 per acre for spraying, not including the cost of chemicals. O the other hand, he has determined it costs only $2.50 per acre to run his own sprayer, including labor.

Based on this $2.50 per acre cost, which includes the sprayer investment, applying chemicals to 21,000 acres equals $52,500. Hiring a local ag chemical dealer to cover the same 21,000 acres at $7.50 per acre would be $157,500.

Sure he’s got a big investment in the self-propelled sprayer with comparable units selling for as much as $450,000 these days. But the math still works out by a long shot for having his own sprayer and seeing the benefits of making pesticide, fertilizer and biological applications at critical times.

Multiple Applications Become More Common

Once a no-tiller owns his own sprayer, he’ll start making multiple applications to boost both yields and the bottom line. Owning a sprayer is an accepted investment among no-tillers, plus it leads to investing in more products to prevent and combat plant health concerns.

Evidence of this is shown in data from the No-Till Farmer 2025 No-Till Operational Benchmark Study. It shows 70% of no-till corn growers are applying foliar fungicides and 49% are investing in insecticides. For no-tilled soybeans, 63% of no-tillers are applying foliar fungicides and 71% are applying insecticides.

When a no-tiller scouting a field recognizes the needs to spray a fungicide for a serious disease outbreak before tomorrow night, they are not willing to lose dollars by waiting days for the local ag chemical dealer to handle the task.

For no-tillers, these kind of situations make investing in their own sprayer a “no-brainer.”