The UK is one of the biggest farming nations in Europe. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the UK is one of the partner countries of the International Farmers Day at Agritechnica 2019. Besides agriculture and cattle breeding, a lot of milk is imported and exported. There are currently around 1.8 million dairy cows living on the UK's 14,550 dairy farms. One of these dairy farmers is Tudor Jones from Shropshire with a herd of 80 Montbéliarde cows.
His family have held the same tenancy at Fron Farm for 72 years on the hillside above Weston Rhyn near Chirk on the border with Wales. The farm is positioned 700-1,200 feet above sea level and stretches to 145 acres of mixed hill ground.
To cover the ground and carry out his daily farm tasks Tudor invested in a new tractor from a trader in Shropshire. “I use it for muck spreading, ploughing, fertilising, baling, mowing and feeding…it does pretty much everything.”
Tudor’s previous Case covered 3,000 hours in just under three years. Whilst this is not uncommon, Tudor was surprised that, after just two years and a little under 2,000 hours, his tires wore out. “I do quite a bit of road work, pull a tanker and work in quite arduous conditions going uphill along rough tracks, but I didn’t think the tires would wear out so quickly.”
I use it for muck spreading, ploughing, fertilising, baling, mowing and feeding…it does pretty much everything.
In the past Tudor has already made good experiences with Continental tires. Therefor he asked his local tire fitter, if he could source Continental tires and the brand was available. Continental, having recently opened a new manufacturing plant in Portugal, was producing tires under their own brand again.
Tudor chose to invest in Continental tires. Once fitted, he was visited by Continental UK Sales Manager, Richard Hutchins, who weighed the tractor and calculated the load to advise on the correct running pressures. Tudor noticed immediate improvements. “The tires gripped better in the field, were more comfortable, quieter on the road and looked better too. After 1,000 hours the tires had worn well and had no cracks or faults.”
To achieve even more efficiency, Tudor traded his old tractor for a newer model. He had Continental 420/70 R28 fitted to the front and 520/70 R38 to the rear. “The tires are quieter on the road, make the tractor comfier and look great. I only really operate one tractor, so I want to make sure it’s fit for the work I do, and this tire choice has really made a difference.” Tudor appreciates that his new tires are perfectly suited for field-use and on-road driving.