By Persephone Taylor

Special to The Moultrie Observer

MOULTRIE – Agriculture is a major economic driver in the State of Georgia and the California Mondavi’s Monarch Electric Tractor hopes to find its niche here.

In total, the industry has a $73.2 billion economic footprint from the production, processing, and wholesale segments of the food and fiber industries, and supports about 340,000 jobs in the state, according to the University of Georgia’s Extension’s 2024 Georgia Agriculture Outlook.

Each year, the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo is held in Moultrie, in large part to give people the opportunity to interact with new products like the Monarch Tractor. The Monarch is an electric tractor, and its producers hope to provide Georgians with small farms and large gardens an eco-friendlier option in farming equipment.

According to a recent report from Farm Flavor, the state is home to 105 USDA-certified organic farms, up from 88 in 2017. Also, Georgia has 1,146 farms using renewable energy-producing systems, up from 946 in 2017.

Fourth-generation Californian winegrower Carlo Mondavi is the chief farming officer and co-founder of the Monarch Tractor.

“Carlo Mondavi is the son of Robert Mondavi, the guy that started the Napa Valley wine craze,” said Victor Manuel Rodriquez, product specialist for the Monarch Tractor Company. “Napa Valley is known for its wine, but back in the day, it wasn’t. Carlo’s dad, Robert, was the guy who started to bring grapes from Europe. Here in the last couple of years, California has really been pushing electrification in farming equipment.”

The Monarch Tractor Company was launched in response to California’s push for more eco-friendly farming options.

The tractor’s development was inspired by the plight of the monarch butterfly whose population has declined to near extinction due to harmful chemicals used in agriculture. Rather than diesel fuel, the eco-friendly Monarch electric tractor can be plugged in when done. It is the world’s first 100% electric, driver-optional, smart tractor.

The company soon found unexpected uses for the small tractor, including push-feeding for dairies and fruit orchards. They are looking to expand into sod farms in Florida and hay farms out West, with the autonomy features helping small farmers improve their labor costs.

“In the state of California, the Monarch is used mostly for vineyards. In Georgia, this tractor is going to be more beneficial in a private home [garden],” said Rodriquez. “It was made narrow to get into those 6-foot [vineyard] rows and made tall so that the cameras can see over high crops for its automatization functions.”

Rodruguez explained that the Monarch can simplify and reduce the cost of buying a tractor or fuel. In addition to its eco-friendly attributes, the state-of-the-art tractor has a built-in computer system to minimize paperwork and keeps track of valuable records like mileage, battery economy, and more. It also has built-in cameras and lights for better observation.