Farming is about playing the long game. Come March and April, that strategy is put into sharp relief with springtime operations setting the stage for the fruits of harvest. This is when the growing season begins and the MK-V – the world’s first driver-optional, smart, and 100% electric tractor – is in the fields, working the earth, powering operations, and helping set a farm up for a successful growing season.
Exportable Power
The Monarch tractor is a battery tractor, and we’ve turned that into an additional asset by making it a mobile power wall. As an energy storage device, the MK-V becomes a portable generator, bringing electricity to every block on a farm so you can power lights, welders, tools, and more. As a compact tractor, the MK-V is suitable for navigating the narrow rows in vertically-trellised farms and orchards, getting power to where you need it.
This spring, Hafner Vineyard used its MK-V to power electric saws to improve the health of a block of its chardonnay vines whose production was decreasing.
@Hafnervineyard shared, "We are converting a block of Chardonnay from cordon/spur pruned to cane pruned and we are using our electric @monarch_tractor to power two electric saws that the team uses to make those significant cuts.”
There’s another benefit with exportable power. You can take advantage of dynamic power pricing by charging the electric tractor when costs are typically lowest, then using that energy during the day when power tends to be more expensive.
Mowing With an Electric Tractor
Winter’s snow and rains fuel spring growth and on a farm that growth includes weeds. Herbicides are one way to manage weeds. While use of herbicides requires fewer passes with the tractor per season, it comes with considerable downsides. Managing weeds with mowing allows organic material to build up in the soil, protects pollinators, improves nutrient levels, and bolsters the soil’s ability to hold moisture which reduces risk of erosion and makes a farm more resilient against drought.
However, mowing with a conventional diesel tractor is associated with more fuel costs and toxic emissions, which are linked to an array of harmful issues including operator health and damage to crops, property, and natural resources. Because the MK-V is an electric, compact tractor, farmers can mow their rows with zero diesel emissions and when comparing the electric power economics of fueling up a diesel vs. charging an electric tractor, electric is always more economical.
Monarch leveled up the ease and efficiency of mowing even more with Row Follow, a driver-optional feature that keeps the tractor centered in the row automatically so operators can give their full attention to the implement and operation. Row Follow improves precision and efficiency, reduces risk of costly collision, and translates to less stress and fatigue for operators. Monarch is the first (and currently only) manufacturer to bring an automated lane-centering feature to a compact tractor for use in narrow rows common with specialty crops.
See Row Follow in action!
Access to Row Follow does require a subscription to Monarch Assist, one of Monarch’s digital packages that unlocks advanced features and benefits for enhanced control, visibility, and insights through Wingspan Ag Intelligence (WingspanAI). WingspanAI is Monarch’s sophisticated, digital platform that turns the MK-V into a farm’s data-gathering and reporting control center.
Ripping With an Electric Tractor
With the soil being moist but not saturated, spring is the ideal time for deep ripping operations to either prepare the ground for new planting or aerate and remediate soil compaction that occurs over time between the rows. Ripping operations demand torque and power, which the MK-V has in spades!
@vinefarm.brad captures the MK-V conducting deep ripping operations at @gloriaferrerwinery!
Make Spring Green
Not only does the MK-V make your springtime operations safer with zero diesel emissions and 360-degree vision for enhanced visual awareness, it reduces total operating costs. Electrification eliminates diesel costs, and mowing means reducing, or even eliminating, herbicides. Supporting a healthy soil biome full of nutrients can also eventually translate into a lower need for fertilizers. Fewer moving parts in an EV tractor means less demand for replacement parts and zero emissions does away with expensive air filters. All this and the MK-V is compatible with a farm’s current ecosystem of implements. Farmers are empowered to make spring green in growth for their crops and their bottom line!
