Better environment for animals and employees with electric tractors

The goal for Menhammar Farm is that all agricultural machines will be powered by electricity, and has since 2018 used electric wheel loaders. Operations Manager Ulf Segerström thinks that there are many advantages to electric power.

Ulf Segerström

“The electric wheel loaders do not emit any emissions. That is a big step on our way to a completely fossil-free agriculture. The noise level is lower, which means that we can get closer to the animals when feeding. In this way, we can avoid unnecessary stress for the horses and cows, says Ulf Segerström. As machine owners, we have to take responsibility for the environment and at the same time create a working environment without emissions and noise for our employees. And thanks to electric power, we can perform work also indoors. Even though the machine has a smaller size, it is stable and can handle a lot of the work on the farm.

Cheaper to operate and less maintenance

There are also positive economic aspects.

“We have reduced costs for fuel since electricity is cheaper than HVO and electric motors work more efficiently. Service and maintenance are minimal as there are fewer components that can malfunction or wear out on an electric motor compared to a regular motor.

How do you see the future of electric work machines?

“The performance of our current machines are about five hours. In the future, it would be desirable with a longer range of the battery and a slightly higher speed. We drive some longer distances and then the speed can be experienced as low. To save resources and at the same time increase efficiency, I believe that we will see larger and more adapted machines for a modern agriculture.”