Why the Biggest Tire Isn't Always the Best Tire 

The trend for agricultural machinery to become increasingly large and powerful might lead farmers to believe that bigger is always better. Though larger machines frequently lead to increases in overall productivity, having the biggest tires may, in fact, reduce the efficiency of your farm equipment. Recently, I helped a customer dispel the mistaken belief that “bigger is better” by outfitting their tractor with the tire size they needed to optimize performance and avoid the other pitfalls that could arise out of “over-tiring” your equipment.

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.

How to Select the Right Tractor Tire

In my role as the National Agriculture Product Manager, one of the most frequent questions I receive is how to pick the perfect set of tires for a tractor. With so many different technologies, tread patterns, and features available on today’s tires, in addition to a whole host of other variables, it’s easy to see how customers can get bogged down when searching through a company’s catalog. However, over the years, I’ve developed a simple process for finding just the right tractor tire for you.

Reducing Compaction and Improving Yields at Harvest 

Due to the seasonal nature of combines and grain carts, most farmers only think about them at harvest time—and often only think about the tires on this equipment when they fail. However, because of the growing size of harvest equipment, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to tires. According to a study from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, from 2006 to 2015, the average horsepower of combines rose from 230 to 342. Over that same time, the average capacity of grain carts grew from 689 bushels to 883 bushels. Because of the massive weight and power of these machines, they're capable of creating deeper, longer-lasting compaction. Luckily, farmers can take a few measures to reduce the impact of their enormous equipment.

Finding New Ways to Connect with Customers 

As a producer of application-specific tires, it’s vital for us to support our dealers so that our customers get the best possible tires for their machine, application, and needs. We work with our dealers in many ways. For example, we have a packed event calendar and our sales team is always in the field supporting our extensive dealer network. We do a lot of posting about our tires on our blog, our Youtube channel, and through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, which is where today’s Tire Tale starts.