Planting season lies on the horizon. An agricultural retailer encourages farmers to inspect equipment thoroughly before entering fields, from the cab to the tires.
Firestone Ag, owned and operated by Bridgestone Americas, Inc. encourages farmers to inspect farm tires before entering fields this spring. The company claims growers can not only save time, but money by inspecting equipment beforehand.
Tom Rodgers serves as executive director of global ag solutions for Bridgestone Americas. Rodgers talks about Firestone Ag?s tire checklist and the importance of following the guidelines.
?The top portion of those seven checks make sure tires are in good condition and there are not any issues as you prepare to go to the field. The last thing we want is downtime as we?re trying to get corn in the ground or anhydrous put on before a rain,? Rodgers said. ?The other element is proper inflation. (It) is critical to harness the horsepower of the machine and transferring that horsepower into the ground to give you the most efficient progression forward in the form of traction. At the same time, (we?re) trying to minimize compaction.?
Firestone Ag places ?check tread area for stubble damages and exposed cords? in the middle. The company notes – ?if any damage is detected, it is time to replace the tires.? Rodgers says farm tires constantly battle complications caused by stubble.
?The other thing to look for is stubble damage, Rodgers said. ?With the improvement of genetics in crops, we fight a never ending battle of trying to keep the tire to survive over this stubble that is very hard and rigid and of course, designed to hold up a large stalk and big ear of corn. It wreaks a little havoc on our tires and all farm tires in the industry.?
