Bridgestone Americas unveiled a new concept tire this fall. The Firestone tire contains more than 10% soybean oil, which amounts to 90 lbs. soy oil in the 900-lb. tire. Because one bushel of soybeans yields about 11 lbs. of soy oil, about 8 bu. of soybeans were used to produce the concept tire.

The soy tire on display is an 800/70R38 radial deep tread 23 tire designed for large 4-wd tractors where eight tires are used. The soy oil replaces all of the different petroleum-based processing oils used in tire compounds. Expect to start seeing the soy tires in 2013 and marketed under the Firestone brand of agricultural tires. Visit bridgestone.com/responsibilities/environment.