John Deere Unveils Its Electric Powered Tractor Prototype

Dec 09, 2016

At Electrek, we firmly believe that all forms of ground transport will start to transition to electric propulsion relatively soon. That includes large tractors for agriculture, as demonstrated by John Deere's latest all-electric tractor concept.

The iconic American machinery manufacturer showcased the new prototype ahead of the Sima show in France next month.

While the company dabbled in alternative fuel sources for its full-size agricultural tractors in the past, including a hybrid electric version, this concept called SESAM (Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery) is the first fully powered by a battery pack.

Where you would normally find a large diesel engine under the hood, there are stacks of battery packs adding up to 130 kWh of capacity:

That's more energy than in Tesla's highest capacity battery pack (100 kWh). SESAM needs it to tow large tools and to perform other tasks, which it can do while in "off mode" without having a large diesel engine running as highlighted by the company in a video released last week.

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Video: Is China Buying US Soybeans + USDA Nov 14th Crop Report could be “Game Changing”

After a week of a U.S./China trade truce, markets/trade is skeptical that we have not seen a signed agreement nor heard much from China or seen any details. There are rumors that China is buying soybean futures & not the physical. Trust in Trump?
12 MMT of U.S. soybean purchases by China by year-end is better than 0 but we all need to give it more time and give it a chance to unfold. China did lower the tariffs on Ag and is buying U.S. wheat and sorghum.
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U.S. government shutdown is now the longest in history at 38 days.
But despite a U.S. government shutdown we will be getting a USDA November crop report next Friday and it could be “game changing.” If the USDA provides a bullish surprise with lower U.S. corn and soybean yields and ending stocks that are lower than expected both corn and soybean futures will break out above their ceilings at $4.35/bu and $11.35/bu respectively.
The funds continued their selling in live and feeder cattle futures on continued fears that the Trump administration want to lower U.S. beef prices. The fundamentals have not changed, only market psychology has.
Stocks markets continue to worry about a weak U.S. job market, but you can blame ChatGPT for that. In the future, we will have a more efficient, productive and growing economy with a higher unemployment rate until we have more skilled AI workers.
After 34 new record highs in the S & P 500 and 124 new records in the NASDAQ in 2025 we are back to a correction and investor profit taking as AI valuations may have gotten too stretched near-term ahead of NVDA’s 3rd quarter earnings announcement on Nov. 19th. But this is not an AI bubble.
75% of Tesla shareholders approved a $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk!
It has rained in South America in the last 7 days, but both the American and European models agree that Central Brazil remains dry in the next 14-days!

Agriculture: a common factor in western growth

Ag Secretary Vilsack presented with Norman E. Borlaug Medallion