LIVERMORE, Calif. – April 6, 2023 – If you want to see a glimpse of the future, you need to go to a farm. Farms are on the front lines of our planet’s biggest challenges and the farming technology solutions they are employing are helping agribusiness and the environment. With Monarch’s MK-V tractor at the helm the auto industry is taking notes. In an April 2023 article based on conversations with President and Co-founder of Monarch Tractor, Mark Schwager, Lifewire puts these pieces together.
Farming Technology for the Big Problems
“Today’s farmers are expected to keep up with the demands of a growing population in a world where agricultural systems already occupy 46% of habitable land,” Schwager said in the interview.
With land limitations in place, farmers are wrangling concerns about rising production costs, labor shortages, environmental changes, and unsustainability of intensive natural resource use in the U.S. farm sector, according to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Additionally, farms face increased customer scrutiny for sustainable practices and government regulations.
Monarch’s autonomous tractor with its farming technology innovations and driver-optional features solves many of these challenges. Schwager explained that by automating some of the time intensive, mundane processes of farming, autonomous solutions can increase labor productivity and conserve inputs. For perspective, the MK-V can allow for one tractor operator to manage up to eight autonomous tractors. This model is operationally efficient, safer, and comes with zero carbon emissions.
Made in America, the MK-V is already on the market and scaled for mass production. Farmers are deploying this tractor in their fields as you read this. Farmers aren’t the only beneficiaries to automation, electrification, and farming technology. The auto industry is another. The farm offers a confined and controlled environment, which is ideal for autonomy. Automakers can learn from Monarch’s autonomous tractor and vision-based AI technology to improve safety in consumer vehicles and move closer to fully-autonomous cars for customers.