Reducing compaction will definitely help with that soil health trajectory, and one way to do that is by having the right tire pressure in the field. Ag tire expert Ken Brodbeck was on hand to teach us about central tire inflation systems and clear up some common misconceptions about tires.  

“People think tires, as long as they’re round and black, are perfect. I can remember as a teenager we had to repair a tire, I asked the tire guy how much pressure we should have on the tire and he said 20 psi, which is way too high. Your tire people will err on the side of being higher because they know that’s going to cause them less headaches for having unhappy customers if the tire failed and was overloaded. The challenge becomes when you overinflate the tire, you’ve taken this nice soft footprint that you need for the field and you made it real hard, and you’re packing the ground. If you look at a construction site or you see people packing silage, they want high pressures, heavy loads. It’s really important if you check your pressure, whether you have an inflation system to change it on the go or just set it to the proper pressure, you’re going to get all the advantages of better traction, lower compaction, better fuel economy, longer tire life and the biggest one you’re going to preserve your soil.”

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.