The problem with electric tractors

In the world of farming, equipment and machinery are essential for efficient production. No harvest or planting season can be completed without the use of at least a tractor if the farmer wishes to produce commercially without the use of many labourers.

In my last editorial, I spoke about the farmer protests in Germany, which were sparked by the German government announcing that it would cease diesel rebates for agricultural machinery. The aim of the German government is clear: to reduce the use of agricultural machinery on farms. However, as many, if not most, commercial farms cannot produce efficiently and cost effectively without machinery, the question becomes: what does the German government propose in lieu of the use of diesel-powered agricultural machinery? Electric tractors?

In 2021, the Washington Policy Centre released a study on electric tractors and their use on farms that said electric tractors did not meet the horsepower needs of commercial farming and ranching in the US’s Washington State.

“A 2021 Honda Civic has more horsepower than either of the prospective electric tractors that will be potentially available to consumers,” it said.

While it is now three years since the study and electric tractors have seemingly improved in horsepower, and while the study was specifically focused on farming in Washington State in the US, there are some concerns about electric tractors that may influence a farmer’s decision to invest in one.

First to consider is availability. These options are not available to all farmers in the world. Second to consider is affordability. Any increase in cost of production, which includes the cost of machinery, will lead to an increase in the cost of food. And as farmers are price takers and not price makers, there is no guarantee that the increase in production can be offset by the increase in farm-gate prices.

Another consideration is limited range: electric tractors have to be charged, and with an average run time of four to six hours according to an analysis done by Medium, this may not be sufficient for larger farming operations. Farmers may then need multiple electric tractors to complete the same amount of work that a single tractor can complete in one day.

In South Africa, a consideration is whether there is sufficient access to electricity to charge the electric tractors. With an unstable power grid, it seems a large risk to consider an electric tractor when planting, and harvesting windows are limited.

From this editorial, it may be apparent that I am not in support of electric tractors, or electric vehicles; they are neither efficient nor necessarily better for the environment as they purport to be. While direct emissions from them may be lower than those from diesel- or petrol-powered vehicles, the batteries used to power them are non-recyclable, have a limited lifespan and require the mining of minerals, such as cobalt and lithium. Moreover, they are generally charged using energy from coal-powered power stations, so are they truly better for the environment? If not, why are governments trying to force farmers to invest in these kinds of technologies, which have been shown to, at least for the time being, lack the efficiency and reliability of diesel-powered vehicles?

EDITORIAL TEAM

Janine Ryan, janiner@caxton.co.za Louis Kruger

Mario Ferlito

Fanie de Villiers,

Yvonne Fontyn and Joel Jacobson

Sindira Chetty, sindirac@caxton.co.za Prenusha Moodley

Andy Nxumalo, 010 971 3773, andyn@caxton.co.za Bev Geldard, 082 557 4662, bevg@caxton.co.za Erika Pienaar, 083 286 7092, erikap@caxton.co.za Rowena Nundkumar, 079 568 6025, rowenas@caxton.co.za

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