Each year, World Agri-Tech brings together global leaders from agribusiness, technology, food brands, farmers, policymakers, investors, and start-ups for strategic networking, industry insights, and start-up discovery. As a leading manufacturer at the forefront of innovation in the ag robotics space, people are interested in the insights of Monarch’s leadership.
CEO and co-founder, Praveen Penmetsa, took the stage on March 11, 2025, at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit. Penmetsa joined fellow panelists from CNH and AGCO to discuss “Autonomous Vehicles: Maturing Design, Capability & Regulation” led by chair, Jessie Scott, Editor-in-Chief of Successful Farming.
Aligning with Farmers
Kicking off the discussion, Scott asked how, in the face of tightening farm margins, manufacturers can better align with farmers’ objectives and decision-making processes to drive off-road autonomous vehicle adoption. Penmetsa emphasized how Monarch’s developments are guided by prioritizing hours of utilization to ensure profitability. a gathered data from company applications, annual reports, media monitoring, and other public sources. Additionally, Statista worked with specialized data partners HolonIQ and LexisNexis® Intellectual Property Solutions to further strengthen the data quality.
We look at the annual calendar and say, ‘How many hours of this operation can we automate that will result in faster payback for the farmer?’
Praveen Penmetsa, CEO & Co-founder, Monarch Tractor
Related, Penmetsa explained how Monarch also takes a broad approach across markets, looking at autonomous or driver-optional functionalities that can be transposed across industries, farm, and crop types. Mowing, for instance, is needed everywhere — between rows in specialty farms for non-toxic weed control, municipalities, solar farms, sod farms, and more. An off-road autonomous vehicle that can make mowing driver-optional, brings to benefits to many mowing applications.
Frameworks Accelerate Progress
Scott gave considerable attention to logistical challenges facing manufacturers and farmers as adoption of off-road autonomous vehicles rises and the technology matures, particularly in the light of regulatory frameworks. Penmetsa’s takeaway message, “common frameworks accelerate progress” touched on several critical points.
Regulatory frameworks are foundational to safety, which is something Monarch Tractor takes very seriously. Acknowledging that regulators may be working with outdated expectations of what autonomous AgTech can and cannot do, Penmetsa explained that the industry has a responsibility to educate regulators, so they know what’s possible. He pointed out that in addition to going in front of regulators, Monarch brings them over, gives them demos, and shows them the technological capabilities.
If the industry has common frameworks, it accelerates progress. Our job is to make life easier for our customers at the end of the day. We can’t have four different types of compliance items that we expect a farmer to jump through. That’s not going to accelerate the adoption.
Praveen Penmetsa, CEO & Co-Founder, Monarch Tractor
Didn’t make it to World Agri-Tech? Next year’s summit is scheduled for March 17-18 in San Francisco, CA.