Kevlar Tires -- Really?

[Lady Tonka]

Well, I learned something else new about tractors today by reading this:

"Farming is one of the most difficult ways to earn a living. You'd think that with all the innovations mankind has developed over the centuries, we could make farmers' lives easier. But as it turns out, sometimes miracles of modern science make things tougher. Literally.

Take genetically modified organisms (GMO) for instance. For now, let's ignore the controversy over its safety, usefulness and ethical issues. The main issue for those guys actually growing and harvesting the stuff is much more practical. As it turns out, corn modified to stand tall and tough against pests is also wreaking havoc on tractor tires.

Mark Newhall of Farm Show Magazine tells American Public Media's Marketplace that after the stalks are cut during harvest, the leftover stubs are like "having a field of little spears."

So instead of tractor tires lasting the usual five to six years, they're getting chewed up after just one or two years. One tractor tire can cost thousands of dollars, and some tractors have as many as eight tires."

GMO crops so tough that farmers are turning to Kevlar tractor tires

Anyone driving a tractor with Kevlar tires? What kind of money are we talking about here, in comparison to regular tractor tires?

 

[madmax12]

I think Goodyear had been making kevlar tires for a few years, for pickups, etc. Silent armor is one of the models, I think.

 

[oldnslo]

Soybeans also eat tires, just not as fast as the super hard corn stalks do. I believe that sunflowers also wrecked equipment from their tough stalks.

 

[bcp]

Back in the 50's when I started tractoring for pay, I was told about one local farmer who had so many flats while clearing mesquite he found a running steel wheel tractor and used it to finish clearing.

Bruce

 

[dmccarty]

There was a report this week in the Wall Street Journal about farmers needing tougher tires which met Kevlar. The problem is that no till farming leaves the stalks in the ground and supposedly the GMO plants can be tougher than non GMO. The way I read the article the real problem was the left over stalks that were not getting tilled into the soil as used to be done. The farmers were taking a financial beating on fixing the flat tires both from the cost of fixing the flats but also the lost down time.

Later,
Dan