With its Mediterranean climate, California has long been synonymous with wine country, but the Northeast is quickly staking its own claim on the moniker. In addition to award-winning wines, it has something else that has become increasingly more visible on California farms; a Monarch MK-V 100% electric, driver-optional, and smart tractor.
Paumanok Vineyards, located in Long Island, NY, has been deploying the MK-V in its vine rows since July. Amanda Olsen, writer for Northforker, covered the story.
A Sustainability Stronghold
Olsen dubbed the MK-V a “carbon-zero hero” a fitting label for everything it’s accomplishing for solar-powered Paumanok Vineyards. Running a single MK-V for one year abates the equivalent carbon emissions of 14 passenger cars, something that diesel-powered tractors can’t achieve.
This tractor can do all the things that you can do with the diesel tractor that it replaces. The big difference is that it burns no diesel, and it’s effectively powered by the sun.
Kareem Massoud, Winemaker, Paumanok Vineyards, as reported in “Carbon-Zero Hero” in Northforker
The MK-V, for its part, goes beyond the tasks typically asked of farm tractors. Massoud says that Paumanok is a certified sustainable vineyard. Sustainability measures often include reducing the use of aggressive agrochemicals. When a vineyard seeks to eliminate or reduce herbicides to manage weeds, it faces making more passes with a mower. That translates into purchasing and burning more diesel which subsequently exposes grapes to toxic particulate matter from diesel exhaust. As an electric tractor, the MK-V circumvents this dilemma, saving a farm the cost of diesel. Zero emissions safeguard the quality of grapes and wine, not to mention a tractor operator’s respiratory health.
Additionally, by providing comprehensive sustainability data, the MK-V is helping farms achieve and maintain their certifications and meet their ESG goals all while growing the bottom line. Compliance with annual reporting requirements becomes easier. And in a time when consumers are paying close attention to how their food is grown, being able to share sustainability efforts can quickly elevate a vineyard’s grapes into a premium product sought by purchasers, winemakers, and consumers.
Calculating the True Cost of Electric Tractor Price
Olsen calls attention to the fact that early adoption is complicated by the price tag, which is notably higher than a comparative diesel tractor. What the electric tractor price doesn’t reveal are all the ways a tractor like the MK-V pays a farmer back in money saved, management efficiencies, time, and upskilling labor.
The total cost of operation for an electric tractor may be significantly less than a traditional one.
Kareem Massoud, Winemaker, Paumanok Vineyards, as reported in “Carbon-Zero Hero” in Northforker.
Then there are the labor-related savings. With its Row Follow feature, Monarch has successfully brought an autosteer feature into a compact, smart, electric tractor. For decades, large industrial farms with massive diesel tractors were the only ones able to take advantage of an autosteer capability. By turning the driving over to the tractor as it navigates the rows, the operator, while seated in the tractor, can pay full attention to the implement. The net result is improved operational precision that eases operator stress and fatigue. In a specialty farm, not only does this feature elevate the skill level of newer operators, but it reduces the risk of collision into expensive vines and infrastructure.
For his part, Massoud shares his enthusiasm for what the MK-V is accomplishing right now.
In order for Tesla to succeed as a car company, it had to produce electric cars that were at least as good or better than the gasoline powered cars it hoped to replace. And I think it is succeeding. And I think Monarch is basically the Tesla of agricultural tractors.
Kareem Massoud, Winemaker, Paumanok Vineyards, as reported in “Carbon-Zero Hero” in Northforker
With the MK-V, Monarch is showing how a farm tractor can support operations, management, and overall agribusiness growth and development. Monarch Tractor is sold through its growing dealer network across the U.S. and in Canada. In New York, interested farms can check out the Monarch Tractor at Ag To Go, based near Rochester, NY.
