“Fruit and vegetable farmers have long been ignored in the electrification and automation movement, and that’s why the Monarch platform is built with them in mind. Due to the ever-increasing labor challenges, sustainability concerns, and food traceability and scrutiny issues farmers face, we have experienced great demand for the unique solutions Monarch Tractor offers,”

said Praveen Penmetsa, co-founder & CEO, Monarch Tractor.

Monarch Tractor unlocks the potential for specialty crop farmers to achieve both their economic and sustainability goals. This has led to growing interest from farmers and increased support from the investment community, allowing Monarch to scale production and expand manufacturing space in preparation to meet global demand. Additionally, it provides Monarch with the ability to expand the company’s footprint globally into South America, Europe, and Asia for international pilot testing programs.

The post Monarch Tractor Secures $61M in Series B Funding appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Davis brings over 14 years of experience in the tire industry. Most recently, he was the product marketing manager for Giti Tire managing new product development for their passenger and light truck tire lines. Previously, Davis worked as a product manager for Nokian Tyres before moving into Nokian’s Heavy Tire division, primarily focused on OTR tires, where he became the sales director for the U.S. and Canada.

“I am excited to join the Continental Commercial Specialty Tires team. I worked in the OTR tire sector for eight years and I am thrilled to have an opportunity to return to this segment of the tire industry. I look forward to working with the Continental CST team to continue our growth in the U.S. and Canadian markets,”

said Davis.

Davis holds an MBA from The Citadel. An Alabama native, he also has a bachelor’s degree in consumer/industrial marketing from The University of Alabama. He will report directly to Matthew Futrelle, who previously held this position, and now heads Continental Commercial Specialty Tires for the Americas.

The post Continental Commercial Specialty Tires Hires Industry Veteran as Market Manager appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Despite the widespread prevalence of specialty crops – along with the fact they currently possess a market value of $79.8 billion (which accounts for more than 16% of total agricultural output) – so often this segment of agriculture gets overlooked.

Specialty crops explained

It’s easy to understand why. “Specialty crops” is a relatively broad term and one which encompasses many different things. According to the 2004 Farm Bill, specialty crops are defined as “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).” Even this definition is broad, given that so many different products can fall under “fruits” and “vegetables.” And often, when we talk about agriculture, the focus finds itself aimed primarily at row crops or animal agriculture. While row crops constitute a select few crops that are oftentimes harvested with a combine and make up the majority of U.S. farmland, specialty crops are most often found in California and Florida.

However, the number of specialty crops being planted is growing more and more in areas across the United States. Recent estimates found there are now more than 184,000 specialty crop farms spanning over 10.4 million acres of farmland. Despite the fact that U.S. specialty crop production is a big part of overall U.S. agricultural production, it does face a number of significant challenges.

Learn more about AEM’s Specialty Crop Leadership Group and other leadership groups like it.

Challenges and opportunities

U.S. producers often find themselves at a disadvantage on a global (and even domestic) scale because, in most areas across the country, year-round production is impossible. And, unlike with row crops, specialty crops can’t be raised in bulk and stored to be sold throughout the year due to freshness concerns. In addition, specialty crops are often much more weather-sensitive than their counterparts. This makes them extremely vulnerable to instances like the recent extreme weather seen across the southern part of the U.S., one which resulted in specialty crop losses of more than $600 million.

To make matters worse, domestic production has also been hit hard by the ongoing trade war. The U.S. continues to import a number of specialty crop products, which drives down domestic prices, and other countries have hit U.S.-produced specialty crops with high tariffs. Meanwhile, Europe has imposed over $4 billion in tariffs on a number of U.S. products. The impacts of those tariffs could be substantial, with NC State estimating sweet potato exports alone potentially seeing a reduction of $70 million.

And, as is the case with most things, specialty crops have been negatively impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Before COVID-19 emerged last spring, it was estimated that Florida strawberry production alone lacked 30% of the labor it needed. Specialty crops are one of the most labor-intensive forms of agriculture that exists today. This is because most operations have a heavy reliance on H-2A temporary agricultural workers. During the pandemic, many of these workers were cut off from coming to the U.S., and those who were permitted had to have special accommodations, as producers also must provide these workers with housing as well. Even before the pandemic, however, the demand for workers had already far exceeded supply.

While numerous challenges exist, it isn’t all bad news for the specialty crop sector. An annual growth rate of 2.6% is projected over the course of the next decade, and commodity prices have already climbed nearly 40% since 2011. Ultimately, though, it remains to be seen if the challenges facing specialty crops will limit the extent to which producers are able to take advantage of opportunities for growth.

Increased innovation among equipment manufacturers

Specialty crops are often sold in the form they are harvested, largely because aesthetics matter to many consumers. This has made developing harvesting equipment even more difficult, as most people don’t want to buy bruised or damaged fruits and vegetables. As a result, several manufacturers have found ways to develop machinery that can harvest these products in a gentle enough way, so as not to damage the product. Doing so has helped make the equipment more appealing and for some specialty crop products, such as potatoes, harvesting equipment has been around for ages. However, most harvesting equipment is still relatively new and not as widely adopted.

While the mechanization of specialty crop harvesting has been slow and very difficult due to the nature of the crop and consumer expectations, a number of products are already on the market today, including harvesters from AEM member companies New Holland, Pellenc, Gregoire, The Morning Star Company and Oxbo.

Most of these machines can match the output of 20 people on a per-hour basis. This goes a long way in helping to address the labor shortages that this industry faces, while also providing a more secure and reliable source of food. In reducing labor needs, machinery also improves producer margins due to the reduced labor cost that would otherwise be needed. All in all, they make the industry more attractive from a producer standpoint through the improved margins and a worker standpoint due to reduced physical labor and better paying, skilled jobs.

The following article was written by Austin Gellings, AEM Agricultural Services Manager

Source: AEM

The post Specialty Crops: an Industry of Potential appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.