Ploughing with Passion

British ploughing champion, Peter Alderslade, won the 2018 competition using a Valtra A95 fitted with our new Tractor85 tyres. “The tyres have a narrow profile, so they fit the furrows well. With one tractor wheel always in the furrow I have just made, it’s important that I don’t damage it as I plough the next,” he explains. The tyres also offered greater flotation properties, helping Mr Alderslade to avoid sinking into the soil which increased grip and reduced compaction.

“I have never experienced tyres that float like these, it made controlling the tractor easier which enabled me to concentrate more of my attention on the plough,”

Mr Alderslade farms in partnership with his brother and the two also offer contracting services in the Sunderland area. Mundles Farm, near East Boldon is 132 acres of arable land with some hay and haylage. When not being used for competition, his Valtra is coupled with a Claas rake and tedder for haylage work. “With a front-end loader, it is a really useful little tractor around the farm and we use it to make haylage for the horse livery we offer,” he says.

He also has a Fendt 720 which is used for the majority of the cultivation and road work on the farm. The Fendt was fitted with our TractorMaster tyres on the front and rear in 2020 following Mr Alderslade’s positive experience with his competition tractor. “The Fendt is an excellent all-round machine, and the tyres work well in all conditions. They are quiet on the road and have good grip in the field,” he says.

He uses a Horsch Leeb 6,000 litre trailed sprayer which is pulled by the Fendt. The heavy payload is often tricky to manoeuvre on the tight streets of East Boldon. In the field it is important that the tyres minimise compaction when carrying the weight of the sprayer, so he is careful to adjust the pressure accordingly. “I don’t have on-board air on this Fendt, so I have to judge what pressure is going to give me stability on the road and enough grip in the field without damaging the soil,” he says. “I have found the TractorMaster tyres provide a better balance for the variety of work I undertake, they are more versatile than others I have used,” he adds.

The sprayer has a 36-metre boom which requires the tractor to maintain stability to reduce drift and optimise the use of chemicals. “The tyres need to absorb the vibrations to minimise the effect on the sprayer. I have found this has improved with the Continental tyres because the bead of the tyre is stronger and can absorb the bumps more effectively,” he explains.

By using a single wire construction wrapped around the circumference of the tyre up to one hundred times, we have created an agricultural tyre that holds the rim, even when run at very low pressures. Many agricultural tyres use as many as ten individual wires to create one bead. However, multiple joins in the bead can cause weaknesses and there is a risk that the tyre can detach from the rim, especially at low pressures.

Our TractorMaster tyre also features N.flex technology, a nylon layer that sits below the rubber to make the tyre more flexible.

“The ride, when towing the sprayer, is much smoother and that is what is needed to do the best job in the field and give me confidence on the road,”