John Deere Tips for Getting Your Tractor Ready for Spring Tillage

Get your Tractor Ready for Spring with Tips from John Deere

 

After some late season Nor’Easters it is finally starting to feel like Spring is in the air. As we get ready for the season, it is important to make sure your equipment is ready to go. A big part of that readiness is checking the tires to ensure your tractor runs efficiently for all of your applications. John Deere released a video, “Tips to ready your tractor for spring tillage”. The video discusses tips to minimize soil compaction, how to properly ballast your tractor for secondary tillage jobs, and why proper tire inflation is important. John Deere recommends that you “set your tire pressure to 10 psi or lower, to make sure wheel slip is in the proper range, and to spread out the tractor footprint to reduce imprint before tillage pass.”

Tractor Tracks and Compaction

Paulie Bradley of John Deere discusses “tractor tracks” and their effects on soil compaction and yield.

 

Key Factors to Reduce Compaction

• Ballast
• Tire pressure
• Slip

 

 

How to Reduce Compaction

• Ballast: 115-145lbs/PTO hp
• Tire pressure: 10 PSI or less
• Proper Range for Slip: 8-12% (2-5% for tracks)

 

Flotation Effects on Compaction and Tire Impression Depth

 

 

The higher the flotation of the tractors’ tires, the less soil compaction occurs. But the impression depth of higher flotation tires is considerable more shallow as well. You want your tire impression depth to be less than your tillage depth so you can get those tracks out.

 

 

Tire Footprint Comparisons

The last segment of the video compares tire footprint and tire pressure levels.
IF-designated tires offer up to 20% more load-carrying capacity, or the same load at a lower pressure.
VF-designated tires offer up to 40% more load-carrying capacity, or the same load at a lower pressure.
Both type offer:

• Reduced soil compaction
• Wider section width for more contact area.