Trefethen Acquires 'Smart' Electric Tractor

Trefethen Family Vineyards, one of Napa’s pioneering family-owned estate wineries and the 2022 California Green Medal Environment Award Winner today announced that the winery has acquired two Monarch MK-V Founder Series tractors. Trefethen is among the first companies to receive the Monarch tractors. The Monarch MK-V is a fully electric, driver-optional smart tractor that combines electrification, automation, and data analysis to help farmers reduce their carbon footprint, improve field safety, and streamline farming operations.

Hailey Trefethen said, “When we think of sustainability, we look at how we can continue to farm the best quality grapes while sustaining our business and our land for generations to come. Pairing these Monarch tractors with the solar production on our vineyard will directly and significantly lower our carbon footprint. We couldn’t be more excited about the technology and clean energy these tractors bring to the industry and our property.”

Sustainability has been a core value since Trefethen’s founding in 1968. From the beginning, the Trefethen family demonstrated remarkable foresight by installing a system to capture and recycle all winery process water and by providing every employee with healthcare and retirement benefits. Trefethen’s CEO Jon Ruel and Hailey Trefethen continue the family’s commitment to sustainability and consistently strive to stay at the forefront of new technology and innovation.

For example, in 2021, Trefethen was the first winery to install Earthly Labs CiCi technology in their cellar, as a pilot study, to capture carbon dioxide from fermentations.Using a Monarch MK-V in place of a comparable diesel tractor is the equivalent emission reduction of removing 14 passenger vehicles from the road. Considering nearly 25% of global emissions result from agriculture, the zero-emission Monarch Tractor will help make meaningful emissions reductions in an industry that has been historically difficult to decarbonize.