IN 2019 the Irish Government published its Climate Action Plan, the objective of which was to encourage Ireland to meet its EU targets to reduce carbon emissions by 30% before 2030.

The Action Plan targets the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with the ultimate aim of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Farming wasn’t pressurised quite as hard as other sectors, but it seems only a matter of time before we will be forced to convert to cleaner fuel systems and ditch the diesel.

Most modern tractors display a more environmentally friendly efficiency of some sort, for example, catalytic reducing technology or filter systems to reduce emissions. Still, if we are to reach the goals set out by the government, then this is by no means enough. Sooner rather than later, diesel will have to be phased out for realistic alternatives: biofuel, hybrid electric or fully electric.

Since the beginning of the mechanisation of farming in the 20th century when plough horses and cattle needed a huge 20% of arable land to grow crops to fuel them, man has tried to run their tractors on a variety of methods including steam, wood, vegetable oil, biogas and solar-power. Today, pioneering work exploring the use of hydrogen-powered machinery is being undertaken and research is also underway into hydrogen-producing microalgae, and even the use of artificial photosynthesis which mimics a plant’s use of sunlight to divide water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.

Electric hybrid

By far the most commercially available tractor technologies are the electric hybrid and completely electric tractors are a popular concept though are only beginning to come on the market. There is a real possibility that going forward, electric tractors could be run on electricity made on the farm itself via wind generation or biodigestion, which would not only lower emissions but would go a long way to lower costs.

Contrary to popular belief, electric farm machinery is not a modern concept and has been around for almost 200 years: the first attempt to power farm machinery by electricity was made in 1849 by the German Zimmermann company. Zimmermann brought a self-propelled electric plough to the market. This influenced a French farmer who powered a home-made tractor by converting his watermill to produce electricity. Neither of these machines led to commercial success, however in 1900, the Brutschke electric tractors were a little more popular and used for ploughing in Germany by a small number of farmers.

In 1925, it was the turn of the Scotland to deliver an experimental tractor, Major Andrew McDowall developed a tractor powered by a 12.5hp motor supplied by a cable which moved up to 400 metres as ploughing progressed through the field. A cable-powered electric tractor was also developed in Russia but despite some public propaganda reporting a three-fold increase in the use of electric tractors, in reality, the dangerous and awkward nature of the cable made it a commercial failure.

In 1949, a British attempt to overcome the problem of the cable was made by the Electrical Research Association in the form of the small market-garden type Ransome’s MG tractor modified with a 9hp electric motor instead of the usual petrol engine.

According to tractor historian R.H. Cochrane: “The electricity supply came through a cable connecting the tractor to a power point at the top of a 35ft-high pylon in the middle of the field. The connector could turn through 360 degrees, allowing the tractor to work in ever-decreasing circles, and as it progressed closer to the pylon, counterweights took up the slack to keep the cable under tension.”

Exhaust emissions

Agricultural engineers in the United States of America developed the Choremaster tractor in 1983 which utilised two 32-cell battery blocks. Designed as a yard tractor as opposed to a farming tractor, the Choremaster was always within easy reach of a power point for battery charging.

At this stage, the batteries weighed two tonnes and recharged in a not-so-handy eight hours, to allow only six hours of work.

Fuel cells were an essential development in the race to make greener farm machines. Developed by American company Allis-Chalmers, fuel cells offered quieter engines and cleaner exhaust emissions and used renewable fuels, but sadly for Allis-Chalmers, they were so far ahead of their time, their innovation was largely ignored.

Allis-Chalmers Fuel Cell Tractor

Cut to today and electricity is fast becoming the preferred option for a more environmentally friendly alternative to petrol and diesel engines for powering cars. Fuel cells produce electricity via chemical supply from liquids and gases. In today’s world, this could mean farmers can grow energy crops or use agricultural waste to generate sustainable fuel to power their tractors achieving near-zero CO2 emissions.

At the end of 2019, working towards this very strategy, New Holland unveiled the world’s first T6 Methane Power Tractor, Carlo Lambro, New Holland Brand President said: “We are very proud of receiving the first-ever Sustainable Tractor of the Year Award for the concept tractor. This is the culmination of New Holland’s pioneering work on the use of alternative fuels through our Clean Energy Leader strategy, and it is a significant step forward on the path to decarbonising agriculture.”

Electric tractor

Also in 2019, John Deere announced the GridCON, a high-performance, autonomous, fully electric tractor which runs at 50% the cost of its diesel equivalent. With another nod to innovations of the past, the GridCON is a cable-powered machine utilising up to 1,000 metres of cable.

For smaller equestrian businesses electric quads and gators are by far the most advanced and affordable piece of machinery. Quads such as the 100% electric zero emissions Eco Charger or the Eco Rider Explorer are proving to be invaluable with almost silent engines and fast recharging.

Most electric quads are now available in four-wheel drive with powerful torque and pulling ability and are capable of the toughest jobs on almost any terrain.

Cost and power output remain the focus for the big tractor companies and at present the cost of the eco tractors does seem prohibitive for many equestrian businesses.

However, it is clear that farm machinery companies are making significant headway to enable us to make positive changes on our yards and farms and to provide a cleaner future for everybody - it just may take a little longer for these revolutionary green machines to be accessible to us all.