1-2-3 Autonomous Tractors

Author

Julian Moses
August 31, 2022

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 28 seconds

At the end of the day farmers want two things; lower input costs and higher yield. Labor is the biggest input cost on a farm, and is becoming harder to come by. Autonomous Tractors help get around this.

These things are really cool... but super expensive. They can do all the basic functions a manned tractor can do, and carry more data. But, Tractors depreciate at a slower rate than street vehicles. Tractors are also a massive capital expenditure for farmers. Farms tend to be in rural areas farther away from repair centers. Since Autonomous Tractors are software heavy, repairs are more expensive.

1 Company - Monarch Tractors

Monarch is building the tractors of the future. They are 100% electirc, driver optional and data driven. This means that one operator can monitor and control a full fleet of Tractors, remotely... and collect data on their fields condition. Plus with swapable batteries and a platform approach, tractors can be recharged and repurposed while on the field.

Monarch is even challenging a California state law that states; "an operator must be at the controls of “self-propelled equipment” when in motion." This would open the floodgates for the autonomous tractor market.

The Monarch tractor helps farmers reduce emissions and provide sustainability data. Monarch is an automated data analysis and collection machine that helps farmers know their field even better.

Monarch is still quite early stage, and focuses on serving smaller producers. The price point for the tractor is around $60,000 for 70 HP of power plus a lot of torque. Monarch is leading the race as one of the forerunners of this movement.

2 Quick Hitters

The Agricultural industry is experiencing labor shortages. There are generally two types of farm workers; self-employed farm operators and their family members, and hired workers. Both are in decline.

Tractors operate on hours run, rather than miles. Since Farms are more controlled environments, the hours an engine works are more important than the distance it drives. Driving Tractors is quite different than driving a street car.

3 Articles

As it stands, farmers need the ability to fix their equipment on their own. When this isn't possible it affects their bottom line. Automated Tractors are complex, and expensive to repair. The article speaks to the outrage farmers have towards John Deere since their tractors have become too complex to fix.

Why is this important? Foxconn is the world's largest electronics manufacturer. They make the iPhone and pretty much everything else. If they're manufacturing the product, it's a great signal that something interesting is happening at Monarch.

This is a self driving problem that is far easier to solve than on open streets. The tractors have a full 360 degree obstacle detection and distance calculation. Once the John Deere is set up, it can tend a field almost alone. The software within the tractor will respond with all sorts of data that gives farmers more data points to make better decisions on their farm.