Shadrick Hoek is next author in 2016-2017 MLHS senior student editorial series
Stuck With Tires; Get On Track With Tracks
There has always been controversy when you talk to farmers about tracks versus wheels.
This year proved that having tracks was beneficial for area producers. Due to the wet field conditions this fall, farmers with tracks were able to be out harvesting more consistently than producers with wheels. Even though it seemed that everyone was getting stuck, the farmers with tracks were doing less damage to their fields by reducing the amount of ruts.
Wet field conditions this fall are proving tracks are a better option than tires. There are three reasons I have found to support my argument that tracked equipment in agriculture is better than wheeled equipment: they have better traction, better flotation and are better in wet conditions.
A significant advantage to buying tracks is that they reduce slippage by 50%, as compared to wheeled equipment. Once tires get in the mud, it’s all over because the lugs fill up with mud right away, causing a loss of traction. They end up burying themselves because the wheels keep digging down. According to producer.com, a rubber-tired tractor is designed to operate with around a 10% slip, while tracks are designed with 5% slippage.
Track equipment has better traction in mud because the weight is more dispersed, compared to wheels. A very important factor in buying tracks is their flotation. Harvesting with tracks doesn’t set a producer back on a wet year like harvesting with wheels could. There is less ground compaction with tracks because the weight is more dispersed. Tracks ride more smoothly in the fields than wheeled equipment, making for a more comfortable ride.
Another advantage to tracks is that, in wet conditions, tracks don’t sink. No matter how many wheels the equipment has, once they start to spin, it will end up burying that piece of equipment, According to Reed Turner, “If you get a Quadtrac stuck, you can pretty much pull it out with your pickup.” It is very hard to get track equipment buried in mud because, in most situations, they will simply lose their traction, as the tracks keep the flotation and hold their ground.
A couple if disadvantages are that the tracks wear a lot faster if driven on a lot of asphalt roads, and tracks can create a berm on the headlands when making tight turns.
As you can see, tracked equipment beats out wheeled equipment by having better traction, better flotation – and this year – they proved to be better in wet conditions. Some people think tracks are a waste of money, but once a producer has them, he or she will never go back to wheels. Tracks may be more expensive initially, but they will pay off in the long run.
Personally, if I have the opportunity take over the family farm, I will invest in tracks so that I can be in the field at all the opportune times and not have to worry about wet conditions, as well as compaction, on my soil.