Scrolling through Alliance Tire Americas’ blog, The Hub, one thing is clear: 2018 was a busy year on The Hub, as we covered everything from the farm to the forest and shared blogs ranging from tire tips from our industry experts to the latest news about ATA. Make sure you didn’t miss any of our biggest stories this year by checking out our top ten blogs of 2018 below.

As part of the never-ending chase for higher farm yields, today’s corn is bred to be super resilient. Unfortunately, some of the advantages gained from these crops (increased resilience and higher yields) can be negated by costly downtime and tire replacement, thanks to the menacing short, stout, post-harvest stalks they leave behind. Fortunately, ATG builds some of the most durable, puncture-resistant, and stubble-proof agricultural tires in the industry. Here are just a few of the ways our Alliance farm tires are being engineered to resist stubble damage.

On Thanksgiving Day in 1986, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions 44-10, a Kermit the Frog balloon was floated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the tenth time (to celebrate the Muppets’ 30th birthday), and a Thanksgiving dinner for a family of ten cost just $28.74, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). A lot has changed since that Thanksgiving in 1986. For example, there are now three NFL games played on Thanksgiving Day, Goku from the anime series Dragon Ball makes his balloon debut in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, and a Thanksgiving dinner for ten will cost $48.90.

The trend for agricultural machinery to become increasingly large and powerful might lead farmers to believe that bigger is always better. Though larger machines frequently lead to increases in overall productivity, having the biggest tires may, in fact, reduce the efficiency of your farm equipment. Recently, I helped a customer dispel the mistaken belief that “bigger is better” by outfitting their tractor with the tire size they needed to optimize performance and avoid the other pitfalls that could arise out of “over-tiring” your equipment.

The Alliance Agristar 374, a new R-2 radial tire for muddy rice and sugar cane fields from the Alliance Tire Group, combines deep-lug traction with excellent roadability. With its unique tread bar design—more than 3 inches deep—the new tire features a pair of "step" reinforcements to reduce lug movement and heat buildup while delivering the tractor's torque to soft ground. This stable footprint exerts great traction in mud and even, long-lasting performance on the road. The Alliance Agristar 374 lug also features a flat tread profile, as well as a wide nose that creates a dense center line to keep the tire steady and smooth on the road while minimizing irregular tread wear from pavement.