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Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

thedrive.com

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Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#71
post #11

Once John Deere starting DRM’ing their tractors it just screams entrenched monopoly. But where’s the barrier to entry? AI is going to dramatically alter this competitive landscape and John Deere’s DRM is not going to to stop it. Honestly, I love watching these companies drive nails into their own coffins. I was on the Google homepage today on my iPhone and was getting popups advertising Chrome (on the homepage!) and…

Barrier to entry in Ag is the dealerships. Deere has the best US dealership network for heavy equipment outside of CAT. It is Ok if your Tesla is in the shop for a few weeks getting fixed, but for Ag equipment, even a few hours at the wrong time is super painful. Deere has parts for 20yr old equipment and their own freight trucks, don't overlook this advantage.

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - a lot of farms are away from electricity sources to charge It's actually quite common for farms to have 3 phase power at the least. Modern farming is heavily industrialized. There's all sorts of dryers or blowers or other processing equipment to be run depending on the crop or livestock. Renewables, either self owned or leased land access are a big growth thing too. This means you can be in the boonies of western…

:D you posted pretty much exactly what I did. I grew up on a farm so it was kind of funny reading "A lot of farms don't have access to electricity" It's weird to read something like that. Every farm in my farming hometown had power nearby. Heck, you'll see power lines all across Idaho primarily for farmers running pumps. You simply don't get more rural than Idaho. To put things into perspective, this house has power.…

Yeah, I didn't grow up on a farm but went to a rural private school cuz family reasons, so I hung around on farms in Kansas a lot in the 80s and 90s.

I'd put a lot of blame on movies or tv ads, that make farming look like gardening but bigger. It sure ain't lol.

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#73
post #4

Progress yes, but at a peak of 70hp it won't be plowing much more than a hobby garden. Autonomous operation is all well and good but expect resistance. Look at how many farmers are injured by tractor equipment. They will rightly fear driverless tractors.

Tractors don't need horse power, they need torque.

That makes no sense. You can get torque with lower gearing, therefore, if tractors only needed torque, then even the largest tractors could get by with a tiny engine given enough gearing. The problem is, farmers need tractors to move faster than .1 MPH, so that is why they have large engines that generate serious HP.

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#74
post #11

Once John Deere starting DRM’ing their tractors it just screams entrenched monopoly. But where’s the barrier to entry? AI is going to dramatically alter this competitive landscape and John Deere’s DRM is not going to to stop it. Honestly, I love watching these companies drive nails into their own coffins. I was on the Google homepage today on my iPhone and was getting popups advertising Chrome (on the homepage!) and…

It’s not enough to exist. You actually have to perform at least comparably, which DDG doesn’t unfortunately.

I use DDG exclusively, and also run Firefox on my Android phone and my desktop. No chrome, no google search anywhere for me.

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#75

+ Really good idea to make use of the electricity in other ways than just driving. (generators, lamps, etc.) + 10 hours covers up a good day in field. - a lot of farms are away from electricity sources to charge and sometimes internet connection is non-existent. It is risky to leave a 50k machine on its own to do its job. And what to do if battery runs out on the field? - how long does it take to recharge? A lot of f…

Charging overnight + installing solar panels near the fields will solve problem. Of course it’s easier said than done, but changing processes will lead to the solution.

Where can I invest in your solar panels that work overnight?

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#76
post #11

Once John Deere starting DRM’ing their tractors it just screams entrenched monopoly. But where’s the barrier to entry? AI is going to dramatically alter this competitive landscape and John Deere’s DRM is not going to to stop it. Honestly, I love watching these companies drive nails into their own coffins. I was on the Google homepage today on my iPhone and was getting popups advertising Chrome (on the homepage!) and…

see Mojeek! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25372401

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#77
post #11

Once John Deere starting DRM’ing their tractors it just screams entrenched monopoly. But where’s the barrier to entry? AI is going to dramatically alter this competitive landscape and John Deere’s DRM is not going to to stop it. Honestly, I love watching these companies drive nails into their own coffins. I was on the Google homepage today on my iPhone and was getting popups advertising Chrome (on the homepage!) and…

Barrier to entry in Ag is the dealerships. Deere has the best US dealership network for heavy equipment outside of CAT. It is Ok if your Tesla is in the shop for a few weeks getting fixed, but for Ag equipment, even a few hours at the wrong time is super painful. Deere has parts for 20yr old equipment and their own freight trucks, don't overlook this advantage.

Its definitely a factor, most people I know out here who bale run multiple tractors so they can handle one or two in the shop if it's during a critical time.

We've got a Kubota CUT, when rats chewed out the writing harness we were 4 weeks before we had it up and running even with insurance + dealership.

Personally I'd love to see someone come in and clean house. Weight and torque are the two things you want in a tractor and electric has both in spades. I think tractors in the CUT space where hydrostatic transmission are common would make a really good fit since you can basically eliminate the HST.

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#78
Granted it's not one of the behemoth's that I see in the Midwest. But I would see a 10 hour run time as a limitation. My friends who raise corn & beans have described their work as being like flying a small plane: Hours of boredom capped off at the ends by a few moments of sheer terror. The opportunities to plant and harvest are dictated by the weather, and when it's good, they want to be running their machines around the clock if possible. Bad weather is a mess -- it multiplies effort and breakdowns exponentially.

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#79

Progress yes, but at a peak of 70hp it won't be plowing much more than a hobby garden. Autonomous operation is all well and good but expect resistance. Look at how many farmers are injured by tractor equipment. They will rightly fear driverless tractors.

Uhm.....I'm pretty sure my family has been plowing fields(and I do mean fields, not hobby gardens) with our trusty old Ursus C330[0], making a whole 30 horse power. Not sure why 70hp would be a problem. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursus_C-330

Do you have a picture of the plow? I can't imagine it has more than say... three bottoms, if we're being generous. American farmers need more than that. This summer I had to really crank a 90hp tractor to pull a fairly small set of discs. 30hp is a lawnmower.

Re: Electric Monarch tractor can plow a field without a driver and run for ten hours

#80

No front-end loader. Less torque than a John Deere. Lame. \s

Hey Glen, our tractor has an optional front end loader and has 2x the torque of tractors in our class. Would love to give you more details feel free to connect at info@monarchtractor.com

‘Twas a joke!

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https://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-i...

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