Both companies that you may have transacted business with for a long time, and companies new to the U.S., introduced new tires for the agricultural market at recent farm shows. Several trends are emerging among tire manufacturers. They’re bringing out tires for more specialized uses, such as for a large self-propelled sprayer or fertilizer applicator. And they’re bringing out new tire designs that allow one tire to accomplish the same tasks that might have required two or even three tires with different specs to accomplish before.

The Maxam 520/85 R42 tire for combines is a good example of the latter trend. Instead of needing a cyclic harvesting operation (CHO)-rated tire, which might not be perfect for every situation for the combine, this tire with a new design provides the performance a combine needs from tires loaded, unloaded or traveling on the road.

Ascenso is not a new tire company. It has manufactured tires in India for a long time. Now, it’s introducing an extensive lineup of tires for agriculture to the U.S. market. As one of their sales representatives noted, “All of our tires are new — we have not sold tires here before.”

Meanwhile, Michelin, a name you likely know, introduced its first CFO Spray Bib tire for self-propelled sprayers. CFO stands for cyclical field operations and applies to equipment like sprayers and planters which operate at varying loads, depending upon whether supply tanks are full, half-full or nearly empty. For example, a 1,200-gallon full spray tank adds nearly 5 tons of extra weight to the load compared to if it is empty.

Take time to peruse the entire lineup of tires listed here. Most companies have complete lines of tires with detailed information offered on their websites.