CNH Industrial has entered into an exclusive, multi-year licensing agreement for electrification technologies with Monarch Tractor, a US-based AgTech company specializing in fully electric autonomous tractors. This agreement is the latest development between the two parties, building upon the minority investment stake made by CNH Industrial in March 2021.

The license agreement foresees the launch of a scalable, modular electrification platform focusing on low-horsepower tractors. These will be developed across multiple product families in the coming years, using an agile process that continuously gathers farmers’ input to ensure the development of differentiated solutions aligned to customer needs.

This agreement also furthers CNH Industrial’s ongoing commitment to decarbonizing agriculture through alternative propulsion systems.

Electrification and machine automation are key tenets of CNH Industrial’s strategy to become an even stronger technology leader in agriculture and drive customer value. This mutually beneficial partnership enables CNH Industrial to enhance its internal electrification capabilities and develop and implement new electrified platforms faster. In turn, Monarch Tractor will be able to harness benefits of CNH Industrial’s deep sector expertise in product, brand, distribution, and supply chain strength.

Monarch Tractor introduced its fully electric, driver optional, smart tractor integrated on a single platform in December 2020. Farmers face numerous challenges including labor shortages, effects of climate change, safety concerns, increased customer scrutiny for sustainability demands, government regulations, and more. Monarch Tractor addresses these issues by combining electrification, automation, machine learning, and data analysis to enhance farmer’s existing operations, increase labor productivity and safety, and maximize yields to cut overhead costs and emissions. The company has secured several hundred working farms as preliminary customers.

Key features of the Monarch Tractor include:

• Renewable Technology – Traditional diesel tractors produce roughly 14 times the emissions as the average car. The Monarch Tractor is 100 percent electric and has zero tailpipe emissions. It also serves as a 3-in-1 electrification tool operating not only as a tractor, but with extra storage acts as an ATV, and has the capabilities to perform as a powerful generator in the field.

• Driver Optional – The Monarch Tractor can operate with or without a driver. The company utilizes the latest autonomous hardware and software technology to provide driver-assist and driver-optional operations. The tractor can perform pre-programmed tasks without a driver or an operator can use Monarch’s interactive automation features including Gesture and Shadow modes to have the tractor follow a worker on the job.

• Unprecedented Safety – The Monarch Tractor is packed with safety features including roll and collision prevention, vision-based Power Take Off (PTO) safety and 360° cameras to keep operations running smoothly and employees safe, day or night.

• Deep Learning & Sensing Suite – The Monarch Tractor collects and analyzes over 240GB of crop data every day it operates in the field. It can work with farmers’ current implements as well as the next generation of smart implements. Sensors and imaging are processed to provide critical data points that can be used for real-time implement adjustments as well as long term yield estimates, current growth stages and other plant/crop health metrics. Utilizing machine learning, Monarch Tractor is able to digest this data and provide long-term analysis of field health, improving accuracy the longer it runs. Additionally, the data collected is securely stored in a Monarch cloud.

• Smart Device Operation – Via a smartphone or personal device, users receive tractor alerts, updates on current micro-weather conditions, detailed operations reports, data collection, analysis, and storage for more efficient farm planning.

• Powerful – Monarch Tractor’s electric drivetrain is capable of providing 40HP (30KW) of continuous power and short duration peak power up to 70HP (55KW) in a small footprint for multi-purpose usage.