How many farmers compromise on tyre pressure, relying on one setting that will meet the needs of speedy roadwork but may not extract the best performance when in the field? The main reason for this, more often than not, is the time it takes to alter the pressure, particularly on jobs where the tractor is in and out of the field on a regular basis.
“We normally operate our tyres at about 14 pounds pressure, though we know that we should be down around eight in the field and up to 20 on the road,” explains PJ McGrath of Tullamore-based Tara Agri. “But lowering the pressure really does make a difference; we noticed this when pulling the seven-furrow Överum with our Valtra 8550. Using the old rule of thumb, of having three lugs on the ground, it is the same difference as turning the four-wheel drive on. The tractor just has so much more pulling power.”
It has been seven years since brothers Paul and PJ have used their plough as part of the cultivation regime on the more than 400ha that they farm in County Offaly, which
