March 2022 - 18

AUTOMATING
CROP SOLUTIONS
Electric vehicles make debut in ag
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
No longer an idea only, electric
tractors are making a quiet start
in vegetable farms, vineyards and
orchards.
Innovation and out-of-the-box
thinking seek to outfit farmers and
especially specialty crop growers
interested in
automation and
alternative energy
solutions.
One example
High-Tech Tools
2022
is the Monarch
tractor, a 75-hp
electric smart tractor manufactured
in Livermore, California. Twenty of
the tractors have been built, and some
are at work on farms such as the Napa
Valley's Wente Vineyards. A two-wheeldrive
version is offered for $58,000 - a
four-wheel-drive version sells for about
$68,000 - and they're meant to replace
conventional tractors that can be
purchased for about $90,000.
The tractor is built with OEM parts
that are accessible, and the battery can
easily be swapped out. Monarch sells
a cart for moving a spare battery. A
charge is good for an average of
10 hours run time and provides about
80 amps of peak energy for 4-5 hours.
Speed is governed below 25 mph.
The tractor features an autonomous
drive mode as well as a " row following "
mode and a " copycat " mode that
reproduces a section of recorded driving,
said Carlo Mondavi, chief farming officer
and co-founder at Monarch Tractor.
" I think 100% of tractors under
125 hp will be EVs (electric vehicles)
by 2030, which is eight years from
now, " he said. Mondavi is a grower of
winegrapes and a winemaker, whose
great-grandfather Cesaré Mondavi
moved the family from Italy to
New York to California to farm.
Monarch Tractor has had its share of
industry recognition, including being
honored by the CES Innovation Awards
in the Robotics category for its flagship
MK-V tractor. The tractor was on the
road in January at the 2022 Unified Wine
and Grape Symposium in Sacramento.
Playing the field
Monarch isn't the only EV for
specialty crop growers receiving
attention in the industry. An allelectric
tractor and an all-electric
refrigerated cargo truck were among
the top 10 new products recognized by
the World Ag Expo in advance of its
annual event in Tulare, California.
The Solectrac e70N battery-powered
electric tractor is the equivalent to a 70
HP diesel tractor, without the emissions
but with all of the power needed on
farms and in vineyards, and is a specially
designed narrow tractor to fit between
Carlo Mondavi. Photo: Monarch
narrow rows of vines, according to a
news release from the company. The
tractor has a four-wheel drive, and its
electric motor provides instant torque
with only one moving part vs. the
roughly 300 in a diesel engine, reducing
maintenance needs. The e70N offers 4-8
hours of operation from a single charge,
depending on load, and the ability to
extend that time with exchangeable
battery packs.
" We are committed to providing
an opportunity for farmers around
the world to power their tractors by
using the sun, wind and other clean
renewable sources of energy, " Solectrac
CEO Mani Iye said in a news release.
Solectrac tractors are assembled
in Santa Rosa, California, and the
company is B Corp certified. Solectrac
is a subsidiary of Ideanomics.
Also recognized in the World Ag
The Solectrac e70N. Photo: PRNewswire
Add Precision to Your
Crop Load Management
Use your smartphone to set accurate crop
yield targets. Count and size to stay on track
from bud to bin.
FruitScout FruitScout.ai
SEE IT IN ACTION
18 | FruitGrowersNews.com
http://www.FruitScout.ai http://www.FruitGrowersNews.com
March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2022
