A I Walgate & Son has recorded significant improvements in the health of its soil having equipped its Fendt 724 tractor and two frontline implements with PTG Central Tyre Inflation Systems (CTIS) and Michelin Ultraflex Technology tyres.
The business farms approximately 700 hectares of land in the Lincolnshire Wolds, of which 500 hectares are in arable rotation, concentrating on combinable broadacre crops.
A I Walgate & Son runs Michelin tyres across all its agricultural machinery and is utilising the latest technology from PTG – part of the Michelin Group – to ensure the fitments on its new tractor, Fliegl trailer and Horizon DSX drill are running at optimal pressures for the ground on which they work.
Commenting, James Walgate, Director of A I Walgate & Son, says: “Because we don’t plough anything now, everything is direct drilled, we’re very conscious of wheelings and compaction. This set up really helps in terms of mitigating compaction, which dries the air out of the soil so when it gets waterlogged it more easily becomes anaerobic, which is the last thing you want for your soil health.
“We did some work where we went up the field with the tyres set at road pressures and had half an inch of rain the next night, and you could see the water stood in the wheelings. But when we did the same work with the optimal field pressures there was nothing. The water infiltration rate with the road pressures was calculated to be 8mm an hour compared with 18mm per hour where it had been run with the field pressures.”
The Fendt 724 tractor is fitted with Michelin XeoBib VF 600/60 R30 front tyres and VF 710/60 R42 rears, while the Fendt 828 is equipped with Michelin EvoBib VF 600/70 R30 fronts and VF 710/70 R42 on the rear. The Horizon DSX drill is sat on Michelin CargoXBib High Flotation VF 750/60 R30.5 fitments and the trailer is equipped with CargoXBib High Flotation 600/55 R26.5 tyres.
All the tyres feature Michelin’s Ultraflex technology – meaning they can carry considerably more weight than standard farm tyres and operate at very low pressures, minimising soil compaction and crop damage in the field. Tyres with Michelin Ultraflex Technology have been scientifically proven to boost farmer’s yields by up to four per cent.
“We have always run with Michelins,” adds Walgate. “In our book, nothing can compare in terms of value for money. You get what you pay for.”
