Preventative Maintenance Helps Farm Tires Last Longer

Ag tires are built tough—they need to be to handle the numerous challenges they encounter on the farm, from transferring equipment horsepower to the ground to pulling tillage equipment and carrying massive loads of seed, spray, and commodities. The durability and ruggedness of the best ag tires can make it easy to overlook the demands placed on them, but devoting time to tire maintenance can pay off, especially when you consider that the price of a single tire can run hundreds or thousands of dollars.

A little preventative maintenance can go a long way to ensuring the long service life of your tire. Below are seven tips for making the most out of your investment in farm tires.

More Stable. Last Longer. 

In southern Indiana, the Dubois County Highway Department road crew mows 1,400 miles of roadside shoulders all season long, racking up 1,200 hours on each of the county’s four mowing tractors each year. Mowing on steep shoulders, carrying heavy bar
mowers, running on pavement—it’s tough duty for tires, which is why Dubois County Highway Department mechanic Max Hopf got so excited when he compared a set of Alliance 550 Multiuse radials against the department’s ag-style R-1 tires.

• Stability? Better.
• Traction? Every bit as good.
• Power hop? Gone.
• And wear? No contest.

Tractor Tires Cut Farm Fuel Costs

Fuel is one of the largest expenses for a farm and while farmers can’t control the cost of fuel, there are some steps they can take to reduce the amount their tractors use—such as ensuring optimal wheel slippage and proper tire inflation pressure. In addition to improving fuel efficiency, optimal wheel slippage and proper pressure can lead to other cost-saving benefits such as decreasing time in the field, reducing yield-sapping soil compaction, and minimizing wear and tear on equipment.  

Just how much can you save by improving farm equipment efficiency? A bulletin from Michigan State University Extension estimates that poor tractor performance wastes nearly 150 million gallons of fuel each year in the U.S.

Corn, Tires, and Old Adages  

The saying knee-high by the fourth of July was long used by farmers to judge the success of their corn crops—it means that growing conditions have been favorable, the crops are off to a good start, and big yields are expected come fall—and the adage remains popular today, despite being antiquated. Innovation in everything from seeds and treatments to equipment and tires has enabled earlier planting and faster-growing, higher-yielding corn.

Improving the Performance of Existing Farm Equipment with Tires

Farmers with hopes of purchasing equipment this year, whether new or used, are discovering one of the most challenging markets in recent memory. Reuters recently reported that the supply of tractors in North America is the tightest it’s been in 18 years. One option available to farmers is to take steps to improve the efficiency and productivity of the equipment they’re already running and wait for the market to cool. A simple, easy, and cost-efficient way to give existing equipment a boost is with new tires.