Crop stubble left from soybeans and corn can damage expensive tractor tires and tracks. Manufacturer May Wes now offers a Tractor Stalk Stomper that fits on the Case IH Quadtrac 600 tractor. The Stomper smooths over stiff soybean stems and other field trash so plant stubble does not pierce rubber tires and tracks. Growers today find more trash and stubble created by the newer hybrids and varieties.

The Stalk Stomper is easy to assemble and quickly install on the tractor's hydraulics. It is available in multiple sizes, including 9-, 20-, 32- and 38-in. widths. The base price to outfit a tractor starts at about $3,500.

May Wes worked with grower Marlen Hansen, Estherville, Iowa, for field testing of the new product. Hansen used 38-in.-wide shoes to protect his Quadtrac’s 36-in.-wide track. “I had great success in the past using May Wes’s Tractor Stalk Stomper assembly on my Quadtrac 535, working 8,000 acres over the last few years,” Hansen said. “When I replaced my 535 with the new 600, I wanted to continue using the May Wes Stalk Stomper to protect my tracks. I tested their new design on 683 acres and the Stalk Stomper performed to my expectations.”

May Wes will expand the row-crop application of the Stalk Stomper in 2012. For more information, visit www.maywes.com/stalk_stompers_tractors.