Choosing an Application-Specific Implement Tire 

It’s easy to overlook implement tires, especially considering that equipment like planters, tillage, and carts spend a relatively small amount of time in the field compared to the tractors that pull them. But choosing application-specific implement tires is key to unlocking a tractor’s full potential. After all, the speed, load, and compaction-reducing benefits of high-tech tractor tires can be diminished if the implements they’re pulling aren’t equipped with tires equal to the task.

What is More Fuel-Efficient, Tires or Tracks?

Tractors are the engine of a farm, pulling everything from planting implements like seeders in the spring to hauling carts during harvest in the fall. Because tractors are the primary power source on the farm, the expense of keeping them fueled is significant—most years, fuel accounts for about 5% of a farmer’s overall costs. Given the considerable expense of fuel, even small differences can result in large returns—which begs the question, what is more fuel-efficient: tires or tracks? 

Signs That It’s Time for New Tires

Farmers depend heavily on tractors, and how well those tractors perform depends largely on their tires. Tires past their prime no longer efficiently transfer a tractor’s power to the ground and fail to provide adequate traction, which can reduce productivity and add fuel costs. Operating a tractor with tires in need of replacement is also a recipe for costly and frustrating downtime. 

There’s no standard rule for when it’s time to replace the tires on your tractor, but there are some tell-tale signs that it’s time for new tires.

Tires Help Overcome Herbicide Challenges 

Supplies of herbicides with the main active ingredient glyphosate have tightened, which has caused prices of in-stock supplies to skyrocket. Glyphosate has been the most widely used herbicide in the United States since 2001 and is predicted to remain in short supply throughout the spraying season. This will force farmers to make some tough decisions, in particular those farmers who plant glyphosate-ready crops, who have no-till systems, and who use glyphosate to terminate cover crops. They’ll either end up paying jaw-dropping prices—if they can even find glyphosate-based herbicide, that is—or changing the way they manage weeds. 

One factor you can count on no matter how farmers handle the shortage of glyphosate is the significant role tires will play.  

Maintenance Tips to Improve Winter Tractor Tire Life 

Tractor tires are designed to take a lot of punishment, but winter dishes out some unique challenges to even the toughest-built tires. Whether your tractor and its tires stay busy all winter long or hibernate in the barn, there are a handful of steps you can take to increase their longevity and maximize your investment in them.