Operating a farming tractor demands hours of intense focus and concentration. Multiple variables simultaneously compete for an operator’s attention — navigating the tractor, managing the implement, safeguarding performance and precision, staying attentive to potential obstacles — all while keeping a wary eye on the crops for signs of problematic issues. Multitasking is part of the job.
Yet, large bodies of research have revealed that multitasking negatively impacts cognitive functions including attention, memory, and problem-solving. Not only do tractor operators regularly confront fatigue and stress, but the multitasking nature of their work makes them vulnerable to costly mistakes. Adhering to its farmer-first mission, Monarch tackled this issue by releasing Row Follow in a compact tractor and marking the first phase of autonomy in Monarch’s journey to bringing automation to driver-optional farming tractors.
Our operators love using Row Follow. It’s really cool! You turn the MK-V into the row then let it go, and it follows that row precisely. That is a huge help to our operators to have a level of comfort they haven’t had before.
Harinder Dhaliwal, General Manager, Vineyard Development, Constellation Brands
Autosteer for Specialty Crops
Row Follow is the specialty crop equivalent of autosteer, a type of semi-autonomous, advanced driver-assist system (ADAS) in a farming tractor. Common in urban vehicles for decades, ADAS technology has improved safety and comfort through features like collision alerts, cruise control, and lane centering. In agriculture, autosteer has given routine tasks such as planting and harvesting unprecedented accuracy.
When autosteer is engaged, the automated farming tractor follows an exact path, allowing the operator to focus on managing the implement while remaining in the driver’s seat. For Row Follow, this means keeping the tractor centered in the row to protect the plants. At the end of each pass the operator manually turns autosteer off, performs a U-turn, aligns the tractor with the next pass, then reactivates the system. Autosteer first entered the market in 1996, improving operational precision while making the job less taxing on tractor operators who are navigating hundreds of acres. Autosteer has helped farms save time and money, precious resources in an agricultural operation.
Historically, smaller specialty farms, those that produce the world’s healthy, nutrient-dense foods, have been unable to access autosteer technology. Yet these are the agribusinesses most in need of the efficiency and profitability a feature like autosteer enables.
.png?width=1800&height=600&name=rowfollow-image%20(1).png)
In 2023, Monarch Tractor released Row Follow, its version of autosteer in the MK-V, the world's first 100% electric, driver-optional, smart tractor. This is the first time autosteer has been available in a compact tractor suitable for specialty farms.
Centered on Savings
Tractors used for broad-acre farming are too big for the rows between specialty crops like grapes, blueberries, and orchards. Moreover, these individual plants are far more valuable than the comparable footprint of industrial row crops like corn, soy, wheat and other grains. Navigating these tight spaces, even in a compact tractor, is stressful and remaining on high alert to safeguard accuracy can be exhausting. Agricultural labor shortages compound the issue as farms struggle to find experienced operators capable of reliable precision performance.
Monarch’s Row Follow addresses these challenges.
Collision Prevention
Using advanced AI, machine learning, and camera technology, the MK-V maintains a centered path while moving down rows, protecting valuable crops and infrastructure from costly collision damage.
Reduced Operator Stress
By handling driving, the MK-V allows operators to focus solely on the implement, minimizing multitasking and lowering the stress associated with potential damage to expensive plants or farm equipment.
Increased Accuracy & Productivity
By concentrating on the implement’s performance, operators improve accuracy. They can maintain sharper attention levels with reduced fatigue for longer periods, enhancing overall efficiency.
Workforce Efficiency
The MK-V's Row Follow elevates the capabilities of even novice operators, reducing training time while enabling them to conduct precision operators. Farmers report that this technology transforms drivers into skilled operators.
Easy to Use
Activating Row Follow is a straightforward, simple process. Using it in your operations is as easy as turning the wheel on your MK-V tractor.
Row Follow Plus Electrification
By integrating Row Follow into an electric tractor, Monarch is enriching a farm’s financial and environmental future. In addition to the benefits afforded by Row Follow and the MK-V's digital technology, farmers gain additional savings from eliminating diesel fuel costs. With no fuel costs and enhanced operator skill sets, mowing to control weeds becomes a viable option, thus reducing the need for expensive and toxic herbicides that compromise the watershed and soil’s long-term health.
We’re using 5 billion pounds of herbicides each year to chemically mow, and it comes with a collapse of the soil biome. We’re 95% inefficient in the way we spray. Automation is about getting rid of chemicals.
Carlo Mondavi, Chief Farming Office & Co-founder, Monarch Tractor
Journey to Autonomy
Row Follow was the first form of a driver-optional functionality that Monarch released. Recently, with Monarch® Autodrive™ for outdoor dairies, Monarch became the first manufacturer to bring a fully autonomous function from beta testing to market in a driver-optional tractor. These are notable milestones in Monarch’s journey to expand autonomous operations to more crops and farm types.
A sustainable, more prosperous farming future comes to a farm one season at a time. As you prepare for the upcoming seeding and mowing season, Row Follow can help your operations run better, safer, and smoother.
