Innovative Tires For Improved Farmer Financial Stability 

Times are tough in the business of farming; margins are decreasing, input costs are rising, and the weather is as unpredictable as ever. While we frequently talk about how we’re developing new and innovative application-specific tires to help farmers meet the challenges facing them, this is only one way that the Alliance Tire Group is working to help farmers improve financial stability—not just today, but for generations to come. One of the most interesting projects we’re currently working on is a collaboration with two Iowa-based businesses at the cutting-edge of out-of-the-box thinking and innovation: Cedar Valley Innovation and Precision Inflation.

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.

Since the development and introduction of IF, then VF, tire technology nearly a decade ago, more and more farmers have been using them as a way to offset withering profits caused by low commodity prices and increasing input costs. Farmers fighting against tighter profit margins can increase their yields with high-tech tires like our AgriFlex line of IF/VF tires, and now the question begs to be asked: are IF/VF the future of farm tires?

By the mid-1970s, almost every car in the United States had converted from bias tires to radial tires. However, scroll through pictures of farm equipment from the 1980s, 1990s, and even the early 2000s and, with a few exceptions, the machines are equipped with bias tires. Now, after years of perfecting high-performing radial technology in large tires for farm machinery, growers have better choices than ever.

Standing nearly seven feet tall and more than four feet wide, the new Alliance Agriflex 372 IF 1250/50R32 CFO tire from Alliance Tire Americas, Inc. is a massive step toward minimizing soil compaction. Thanks to increased flexion (IF) sidewall technology and precision engineering, each of these huge tires can carry up to 22,480 pounds at an inflation pressure of just 46 psi, which helps reduce yield-limiting compaction that can be caused by combines and grain carts, says James Crouch, Agricultural Marketing Specialist for ATA.