For many small farms, fuel costs and the cost of tractors pose significant barriers to economic sustainability. Older petroleum-fueled tractors remain the backbone of many farm operations, but they come with less fuel efficiency, maintenance demands, and a carbon footprint. Meanwhile, electric tractors can be limited to light tasks and can be expensive.
With support from a $14,957 NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant, Robert Braun at Pigeon River Farm in Clintonville, Wisconsin, has been working to build a versatile, hybrid dual-fuel tractor that combines electric efficiency with the reliability of traditional gasoline power, offering a cost-effective solution for diverse farm tasks.
Converting a Farmall M to Hybrid Power
Partnering with longtime collaborator Brian Buckta, a renewable energies and agriculture outreach specialist, the team merged their decades of expertise to convert a Farmall M tractor to a hybrid electric tractor.
- They retrofitted a traditional tractor with a Warp 9 electric motor powered by Group 30 industrial-grade batteries delivering 144 volts (photo right).
- They installed a custom speed control governor to maintain a constant speed under variable loads, similar to cruise control on a late-model car.
- They used a high-voltage relay and controller to manage the flow of power to ensure safe and efficient operation.
The Key Modifications
- Power transmission: dual-belt pulley installed for reliable power transfer to the power take-off (PTO).
- Motor performance: calibrated for 3,600 revolutions per minute (RPM), achieving consistent PTO speeds of 540 RPM.
- Battery management: 200-amp limit set to prevent overloading and extend battery life.
- Real-Time monitoring: digital sensors track load and energy use during operation.
Supply chain delays posed initial hurdles, but feedback from focus groups helped identify alternative suppliers to find components at competitive prices.
Early Results Show Promise
The tests have shown promising results. For instance, fence trimming costs just $0.90 per session using grid power—compared to $9.00 for gasoline—with even greater savings when using solar energy. The hybrid system also handles heavier tasks, such as raking hay, with reduced operational costs and increased efficiency. As a bonus, the electric powered tractor is quieter than a standard Farmall M.
Braun noted that some farmers have expressed concerns about their ability to manage the technical aspects of a conversion. His outreach efforts, including YouTube videos, television features, and partnerships with Marion High School’s FFA program and Fox Valley Technical College, have made the information more accessible. Detailed videos of the process are on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/ FarmallMHybridProject. Braun hopes these instructional videos will help farmers adopt this technology with confidence.
“The journey through this SARE grant project has been enlightening and transformative for our farm operation,” said Braun. “These learnings are not just pivotal for our operation but also hold valuable insight for the broader farming community, emphasizing the role of grants like SARE in fostering innovation and collective growth in sustainable agriculture.”
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