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Abstract BACKGROUNDThis article presents a model of how farmers choose to custom hire for pest control. The decision‐making process is illustrated through a discrete choice experiment conducted via a pilot survey of soybean growers in Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Farmers responded to a hypothetical pest infestation by choosing between custom operators, spraying on their own, or leaving the field to its fate. RESULTSAmong farmers who choose to spray, the mean willingness to pay for marginal increases in timeliness (as defined as the chance of late spraying) ranges from 37 to 52 cents per acre. We also find that farmers more averse to risk are more sensitive to custom operator timeliness and that farmers with better‐developed social networks are less sensitive to the risk of delay. CONCLUSIONThe results of this study can motivate future research into the drivers of on‐farm decision‐making, especially as it relates to custom hire behavior in pest control and other field operations. © 2024 The Author(s).Pest Management Sciencepublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.