Keeping Soil Health In Mind During Harvest

Harvest traffic and the potential for wet soil conditions make yield-robbing soil compaction a top concern during harvest. Austin Fischer, a field engineer from Firestone Ag, explains how the right tire design and proper tire inflation can help reduce soil compaction and keep your most valuable resource healthy. Fischer talks about the main factors that contribute to soil compaction.

“There are three main factors that we say contribute to soil compaction," Fischer said.  "The first is the moisture level in the soil. That’s the most obvious one. Everyone knows the wetter the soil, the more susceptible it becomes to compaction. The second one is the soil type. So, is it Sandy? Is it heavy clay, silty clay, loam, or whatever? And then the third one is the amount of pressure applied to that soil and the amount of traffic going over it.”

Tire Pressure and proper inflation, he noted, can influence the equipment’s impact on soil and compaction.

“The name of the game for reducing soil compaction via tires is to maximize your total footprint area," Fischer said.  "A larger footprint spreads the weight of the machine over a larger area, which you know, with pressure being force over area, when you increase the area, you're reducing that pressure that you're exerting per square inch of soil. When you run your tires in an over-inflated state, you're shrinking that footprint. Running too little air in the tires on the flip side, although it gets you a larger footprint, it can adversely affect the life of the tire. The ultimate goal is to run the lowest possible inflation pressure needed to carry the maximum axle load that the tire will see.”

Innovative tire design plays a role in reducing soil compact as well.

“The tire needs to be flexible enough to develop a nice full square footprint while also being ridged enough to keep the center of the tread anchored to the ground. If the carcass doesn't have enough stiffness, sometimes that center will buckle. We do have what are called IF and VF tires, and those operate at higher level deflection, meaning that they can carry more load at the same inflation pressure or the same load at a lower inflation pressure. That allows for an even larger footprint. And since those tires are specifically designed to operate at those higher levels of deflection, you're not sacrificing the longevity of the tire as far as the carcass for wear life.

"Firestone certified dealers are oftentimes a great resource for that," Fischer continued.  "We have a YouTube channel where we've got some unique little videos that can help you properly set your tractor up to limit compaction. And then lastly, you have a Firestone Ag engineering hotline that we would welcome farmers to call, and we can certainly help them get their equipment set up to minimize ground pressure and to maximize performance.” 

For more information Fischer encouraged farmers to visit FIrestonAg.com.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com