C-DRONE GUIDE · 1 AUGUST 2026
Wild-boar and game damage to crops: assessing a field by drone, price
Wild-boar passage through maize is hard to see from the road and even on foot: flattened and rooted patches hide deep in the canopy, and walked estimates stay partial and debatable. Yet the destroyed area is precisely what sets the compensation amount — in France, big-game damage is compensated through the departmental hunters' federations, based on an adversarial estimate. The drone changes the nature of that estimate: an orthophoto of the field reveals every damaged patch, measures its exact area, and turns a matter of judgement into map reading. Here is the method, what research says, and prices observed in 2026.
Published on 1 August 2026, reviewed on 1 August 2026 — regulations in force as of August 2026.
Why walked estimates under- (or over-) shoot
An assessor walking a 10-hectare maize field sees only a fraction of the damage: rooted and flattened patches are scattered, invisible at eye level a few rows away, and their mental aggregation — "about 8% of the field" — carries all the file's uncertainty. The farmer feels under-compensated, the federation feels it pays too much: the disagreement is structural, because the measurement is.
Seen from the sky, the same field reads at a glance: destroyed patches contrast with the intact canopy, and their area is measured to the square metre. A study by Rutten, Casaer, Vogels, Addink, Vanden Borre and Leirs published in 2018 in the Wildlife Society Bulletin showed on Belgian fields that a drone with a plain visible-light sensor can map wild-boar damage in maize and yield a more objective area estimate than ground assessment (see the study on Google Scholar). It is the same shift as for hail and storms, described in our agricultural damage assessment guide.
The method: orthophoto, delineation, defensible area
The mission is simple and fast: a photogrammetric flight over the field (a few minutes per hectare), an orthophoto stitched at a few centimetres' resolution, then the delineation of destroyed patches — manual or classification-assisted — and area computation, delivered as a map and a per-block table. Georeferencing lets the result overlay the CAP parcel register and separates fresh damage from older areas.
Research has refined this chain: a study by Michez, Morelle, Lejeune and colleagues published in 2016 in the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems mapped wild-boar damage in Walloon maize by drone and highlighted the value of very fine detail for telling flattening, rooting and mere lodging apart (see the study on Google Scholar). Two points matter for defensibility: fly soon after the damage is reported (before the crop partially recovers or new passages blur the reading), and keep the timestamped raw data, which serves as evidence.
Who orders it, and for what use
Three typical clients. The farmer first, who wants to back a damage claim with a precise figure — especially when large areas are at stake or disagreement is likely. The departmental hunters' federations and their assessors next, who gain a consistent, fast method on big files and a document that calms adversarial discussions. Finally hunting societies and land managers, who use repeated mapping to objectify game pressure along woodland edges and target prevention (fencing, diversionary feeding, culling).
The same flight can serve twice: the damage map feeds the compensation file, and its seasonal repetition informs management — which crops, which edges, which periods. For estimating the populations themselves, the thermal drone takes over: that is the subject of our wildlife counting by drone guide.
Prices observed in 2026
Ranges observed in 2026 (excl. VAT):
- Single field up to 10 ha (orthophoto, damage map, per-patch areas): €350 to €700.
- Farm or sector of 10 to 50 ha (several blocks, summary table): €700 to €1,500.
- Federation or group campaign (multi-farm round, consistent method): on quotation, tapering per-hectare rate.
- Re-visit after crop recovery (same footprints, comparison): €250 to €500.
Speed is the crux of the file: fresh damage reads best, and some crops partially recover. Our agriculture drone page presents the full range of farm services; request a quote stating the crop, the area and the date the damage was reported.
Frequently asked questions
Is the drone map accepted in the compensation procedure?
The estimate is still conducted under the departmental federations' procedure, with an assessor; the drone map does not replace it but is filed as technical evidence: measured areas, dated orthophoto, raw data retained. In practice it mostly serves to bring farmer and assessor to quick agreement on the area actually hit.
Can wild-boar damage be told apart from wind lodging?
Often, yes: at a few centimetres' resolution, a rooted patch (turned soil, plants severed in irregular spots) does not look like weather lodging (plants flattened the same way, in relief-linked bands). The pilot supplements the orthophoto with close oblique photos of disputed patches, and the assessor rules on the evidence.