3 North Bay Vineyards To Get Zero-Emission Tractors

NORTH BAY, CA — In a first for California, seven zero-emission tractors will be deployed at Bay Area farms and vineyards, including three in the North Bay.

The tractors are the fruit of a $1 million grant to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District from the state's Funding Agricultural Reduction Measures for Emission Reductions, or FARMER, program.

The goal is to test the viability of emerging technologies to determine if they can serve the same function for Bay Area agricultural operations as the diesel-powered equipment they would replace. The program also furthers California's toxic and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and the Air District’s "Diesel Free by ’33" initiative, according to a news release.

The partnering farms where tractors will be deployed and data will be collected include Old School Vineyards in Napa, Arroyo Lindo Vineyard in Sonoma, Crocker Estate in St. Helena, Wente Vineyards in Livermore and The Mushroom Farm in Pescadero.

The zero-emission, battery-operated tractors, are not yet commercially available on a large scale. To support the creation of demonstration models under the FARMER program, the air district in 2020 awarded a $480,000 grant to Monarch Tractor and a $514,688 grant to Solectrac by Ideanoics.

Monarch Tractor is an electric tractor manufacturer with a fully electric tractor platform built to
empower farmers by enabling the profitable implementation of sustainable and organic practices, while Solectrac by Ideanomics is a manufacturer and distributor of zero-emission electric farm and utility tractors that are powerful, low-maintenance alternatives to polluting diesel equipment.

"The Air District is proud to take the lead in advancing clean technologies, such as zero-emission tractors, which is a significant and necessary step toward meeting our goals of reducing air quality disparities and climate impacts throughout the Bay Area," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the air district. "The FARMER program is proof that clean technologies are possible in every industry."

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.