Tractors which run on methane will probably hit the Australian market in two to three years, according to CNH Industrial Australia and New Zealand managing director Brandon Stannett.
He said such machines will be a "game-changer" in some parts of agriculture for the reduction of methane emissions.
Mr Stannett was speaking to Stock & Land at last week's Future Ag Expo at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
CNH Industrial, a global tech and iron company, owns New Holland and had a sizeable presence at the event.
While noting that alternative fuel tractors were a few years from being launched in Australia, Mr Stannett said the commercial application for the machines in the European market had kicked off "right now".
"It'll be a real game-changer in some parts of the agricultural production system, depending on application," he said.
The methane tractors would run off the natural gas, captured through a biodigester, and farmers using such machines would need to be based around a biomethane plant.
"It requires a biodigester to turn those emissions into combustible fuel," he said.
Mr Stannett said the tractor's carbon neutrality, or potential to have negative emissions, came through capturing methane from a farm's production system.
"You think about all of the emissions from a cow and capturing all of that material," he said.
"Capturing the methane that comes from that and turning it into fuel, you're not releasing that methane into the atmosphere then."
He said he could see fleets of carbon neutral tractors working around a biogas plant on Australian farms in future.
New Holland Australia and New Zealand product segment manager for mixed farming and livestock Ben Mitchell agreed with Mr Stannett's outlook.
He said when it came to methane tractors, Australian merchants could already "get our hands on it" if they wanted to.
"That's just a small part of the puzzle," he said.
However, Mr Mitchell said entire farming practices would need to change to make the machines work, where methane capture would be required.
Mr Stannett said he could see the methane tractors having a major impact in countries such as New Zealand.
He said in a country which branded itself on clean, green dairy production at world-class scale, a methane tractor could turn those farms from very large net carbon emitters to something that can capture those emissions on farm and regenerate the emissions into fuel.
"The possibility to turn that farm into a neutral enterprise that goes with the regulation in New Zealand as well, that application opportunity is true," he said.
He said there were any number of applications for the methane tractor in Australian agriculture which could see a similar outcome.
However, Mr Stannett said it would be a long time before the average farmer could afford a methane tractor and the early adopters would likely be those operating on a large scale.
"The autonomous and alternative fuel vehicles that we're bringing to market, they're very expensive," he said.
"They're not in reach of the average farmer that's got a small plot but certainly those early adopters that are professional farmers, they're eagerly adopting technology that's fit for purpose."
