The Monarch tractor has come to Canada, with an Ontario distributor.
Monarch Tractors was created in 2017 and more than 500 of them work on farms, mostly in the United States.
Why it matters: Electric tractors can reduce the impact of emissions on plants and livestock, while providing lower operating costs, as electricity costs less than diesel.
Haggerty Ag Robotics based near Bothwell, Ont. is the new distributor of the tractor, which is equivalent in power to a 70-horsepower diesel tractor.
The company has had the tractor at some trade shows this winter and will be testing it in Ontario this summer.
Jeff Pettit, sales manager for Haggerty Ag Robotics, says that the tractor is also autonomous, which opens up more functions for it than other electric tractors.
He says the tractor, which is manufactured in Ohio, is being used in the U.S. mostly for dairy farms to push feed and then in horticulture and viticulture operations.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity to bring this tractor to the Canadian market as we see a need for robotics and technology, and something electric and autonomous for farmers,” he said at the London Farm Show.
The tractor will operate for about eight hours before recharging is needed, depending on what it’s used for. It takes about five hours for a full charge on a 220-volt charger and eight hours with 110 volts.
“Mundane tasks on the farm like weeding and mowing, it’s able to do that autonomously, and that allows farmers to focus on more pressing tasks and frees up some labour for them,” said Pettit.
The tractor has routines that it remembers, so once it’s been used for mowing, it can be sent out to do that mowing route again autonomously.
For dairy farmers, there are advantages including the fact that it is low noise and has no emissions, which means a better environment for the dairy cattle.
Pettit says it’s being used for feed pushing and bedding. It can be set up to move autonomously between multiple barns for feed pushing.
The tractor is also set up for data recording with a sun cover that is way more beefed up than usual open-station tractors.
The data hub is filled with cameras, sensors and lights for autonomous operation, says Pettit. The tractor learns as it goes. Farmers can also log into the tractor from a laptop to look at the data. The tractor comes with a built-in GPS system so no additional system needs to be purchased for it.
Haggerty Ag Robotics will be able to service anything mechanical with the tractor, he says.
The tractor isn’t yet available with a loader, but Pettit says a loader is under development and should be available in a month. There’s a blade for the front for pushing feed. Any standard three-point hitch implement works on the tractor.
The tractor has a unique look, with a space cut into the hood where the engine would usually be for storage, but it could carry something like a small tank for spraying.
The Monarch costs about $130,000 depending on options.
“If you have the need for a 70-horsepower tractor, this will seamlessly fit into your operation,” said Pettit.
