Edward Ewan

A Scottish contractor was an early adopter of our new tyres when he chose to fit a set of our Tractor85 tyres in 2019. 4,000 hours on and the tyres are still performing well despite the demanding work he expects from them.

Edward Ewan contract farms near Aberdeen and specialises in silage work for beef farms. He also offers ploughing, drilling and muck spreading within a 15 miles radius of his 350-acre farm in Newtonhill. The business was started by his father in the 1970s and his son Gary helps him to run it.

The 520/85 R42 rear tyres and 420/85 R30 fronts were fitted to his New Holland 7210 which has covered over 11,000 hours. “We use it for pretty much everything, but mostly field work these days. It spends a lot of time baling in the season but can also handle a 5 furrow Kverneland plough well on the land we have around here.”

The grassland can be slippery and having good tyres makes all the difference to the efficiency of the tractor, the confidence of the operator and the impact the machinery has on the soil.

The land is flat and some of the land he works on is coastal, so the soils vary from sandy loam to light clay moving inland. “The grassland can be slippery and having good tyres makes all the difference to the efficiency of the tractor, the confidence of the operator and the impact the machinery has on the soil,” he says.

Mr Ewan has been particularly impressed with the self-cleaning properties of the tyres. “It is really important when we are ploughing for the tyres to grip well and not get blocked up with soil. These tyres have performed very well and there is still plenty of tread, so I am hoping to get another couple of seasons out of them,” he says.

Our Tractor85 tyres have offered excellent grip on grassland, performed well when ploughing, and have been quiet on the road. Mr Ewan chooses to run at 18psi for both road and field work, a pressure that was advised by Continental’s agricultural tyre specialist Richard Hutchins. “Eddie is doing a lot of baling work and the tractor is used mostly on quite soft grassland, but also has to travel on the road. By calculating the pressure for load including the weight of his New Holland square baler, I was able to suggest the most efficient operating pressure for the mixture of work.”

These tyres have performed very well and there is still plenty of tread, so I am hoping to get another couple of seasons out of them.

Our Agriculture TireTech app holds data on all our tyres and only requires the weight of the tractor plus any implements and forward speed to be added in order to calculate the optimum operating pressure. “The app is a handy tool, and we hope that all farmers who choose to buy our tyres will take the time to use it because this will help reduce soil compaction and also make the tractor safer to operate,” he adds.

Mr Ewan also has a Manitou 634 telehander that is in need of new tyres. Following the positive experience with his Tractor85 tyres he is hoping to fit our new CompactMaster AG loader tyres that Continental released in 2021. The tyre is the first to feature Turtle Shield tread technology and a twisted steel cord, helping to prevent cuts and damages whilst offering greater stability.

“I have been impressed with the tractor tyres and, if the loader tyres are as good, I am sure I will be happy. The service from Richard has been second to none and I think it is admirable that he actually visits farms to make sure the tyres are right,” concludes Mr Ewan.