Mission Critical: Steer Tires Lead the Way
When it comes to the long-haul steer application, fleets and owner/operators have a short, relatively simple, but critical list of demands that are not up for debate.
Don Owen Tire: An Interview with A 2nd Generation Ag Tire Dealer
Second-generation business owner Bob Owen talks with Contributing editor Jeff Wallick about ag tire technology, the origins of his business and even delves into the difference between a farmer and a crop producer. (And yes, there’s a difference.)
The Long Tail of Ag Tires Finding Your Niche
We live in a truly limitless world. Our world is both large and small. We have access to nearly infinite options in nearly every facet of life and industry. Meanwhile, our reach has expanded exponentially, while making the world much smaller and more reachable.
A Time To Build
How lucky are we? If you turn on the TV and flip the channel to your favorite news station, watch for five minutes and ask yourself that same question again. How lucky are we?
Millennials in the Tire Industry From a Millennial
I go to quite a few tire industry conferences, trade shows and training events each year. Inevitably, there’s a session about working with millennials in the workplace (or how to deal with millennials) and it’s led by someone who’s about my dad’s age. It’s not a knock on my dad or his generation. Far from it. My dad is the reason I chose a career in the tire industry. But I’m tired of people talking about millennials who aren’t millennials themselves.
Continued Growth
What is the American dream? There’s something about an election year that evokes such existential questions. Is it an innate desire to lead a better life than our parents? What’s our purpose? Maybe it’s just to be happy, but I think it goes deeper than that. Since the beginning of recorded humanity, we’ve progressed and
Ag Tires: Looking Ahead
Have you ever looked back at your high school yearbook? Look at yourself, all young and full of hope, maybe a little naïve about life. Look at that hair! Look at what you were wearing! What were you thinking? Don’t worry. I’m not singling you out. We were all there with you. In the ’70s,
Ag: A Story of Emotions, Volatility and Risk
Agriculture in 2016 is a story of intuition and data. For centuries, farmers have been successful in part by relying on their good intuition passed from generation to generation. Many farmers know when to plant, which crops will yield the most bushels per acre and the highest profits, and they trust their gut to know
The Formula for Success
I’ve always been pretty terrible with numbers. Some people are born with that gene and some aren’t lucky enough to inherit those analytical skills. I’m unfortunately part of the latter group and understanding even simple arithmetic always evaded me. In college, I failed Accounting 101, twice. Luckily, third time was the charm. Grad school hasn’t
Ag Tire Dealers Face a Myriad of Challenges
For most companies, the single largest expense is employee benefits. Often, companies will consider that to include wages, bonuses, commissions, healthcare, and 401(k) programs. But what about the costs of keeping your largest investment safe and properly trained – not to mention, the costs of attracting and retaining the best possible talent? A long-emerging and
The Evolution of Ag
The first recorded attempt to use pneumatic farm tires was about 144 years ago in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The Thompson’s Rubber Tire Steamer was set up to pull seven plows and chug along at about 10 mph. It didn’t fare very well. The second attempt wasn’t until 47 years later in 1918 when International
Ag: Still a Tough Row to Hoe
This certainly is not your father’s agricultural tire market. In these increasingly volatile times, people and events across the globe are more connected in more ways than ever before. Extreme drought conditions in the Western U.S. and historical wet conditions in other areas of the Americas impact crop prices in Europe. Raw material prices in