Thankful for Farmers 

On Thanksgiving Day in 1986, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions 44-10, a Kermit the Frog balloon was floated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the tenth time (to celebrate the Muppets’ 30th birthday), and a Thanksgiving dinner for a family of ten cost just $28.74, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). A lot has changed since that Thanksgiving in 1986. For example, there are now three NFL games played on Thanksgiving Day, Goku from the anime series Dragon Ball makes his balloon debut in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, and a Thanksgiving dinner for ten will cost $48.90.

Spooky Sites and Solid Tires 

It may not be ghouls and goblins lurking around dark corners that scare today’s skid steer operators; rather, it’s debris, downtime, and punctures that keep them up at night. And while dark basements, haunted woods, and creepy old houses provide the chills this time of year, these scary work sites unnerve operators all year long. Luckily, skid steer operators can make these sites a little less frightening by equipping their machines with solid tires.

As of Jan 1, 2021, Alliance Tire Group and Alliance Tire Americas, Inc. changed their names to Yokohama Off-Highway Tires and Yokohama Off-Highway Tires America, Inc respectively. The Alliance, Galaxy and Primex brands and product names remain unchanged. Product information is available at www.yokohama-oht.com.

The Alliance Agristar 374, a new R-2 radial tire for muddy rice and sugar cane fields from the Alliance Tire Group, combines deep-lug traction with excellent roadability. With its unique tread bar design—more than 3 inches deep—the new tire features a pair of "step" reinforcements to reduce lug movement and heat buildup while delivering the tractor's torque to soft ground. This stable footprint exerts great traction in mud and even, long-lasting performance on the road. The Alliance Agristar 374 lug also features a flat tread profile, as well as a wide nose that creates a dense center line to keep the tire steady and smooth on the road while minimizing irregular tread wear from pavement.

Flotation Tires: From Farm to Forest 

Though the cutting and harvesting of timber is the primary concern of logging operations, the protection of the forest floor from heavy equipment is also a priority for forward-thinking operations. Increasingly large and powerful logging machinery could cause damage to the ground and rip up the root map, slowing the time it takes for the forest to regenerate, reducing the rate of biomass production (resulting in less income), and making landowners unhappy. Fortunately for loggers—and forests—the use of flotation forestry tires is a simple way to minimize compaction and rutting.

Learning an Unplanned Lesson About Tire Inflation 

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” - Robert Burns

I’ve always liked this quote and can’t help but think of farmers when I hear it. With so many decisions needing to be made throughout the year, even the best-prepared farmers can watch their plans unravel as factors outside of their control—such as tariffs, insects, drought, flood, fuel, labor, and breakdowns—conspire against them. With so many elements that farmers can’t control, it’s important to seek out advantages with the ones they can, such as tires.