The family-run business, in Nottinghamshire, took delivery of the UK’s first Horsch Leeb 8.300 PT last summer. The sprayer arrived as a prototype from Horsch’s headquarters in Germany fitted with a competitor’s rubber, but Flawborough Farms has since switched to Michelin VF 650/85 R42 AxioBib 2 183D tyres in an effort to unlock the machine’s maximum performance.
The large high-flotation tyres are designed to provide excellent traction for high-horsepower heavy farm machinery and can run at very low pressures, minimising soil compaction and crop damage in the field.
Commenting, Tom Hawthorne, Partner at Flawborough Farms, says: “I wanted a tyre that can carry the most weight and acts as a very good flotation wheel, but also one that I can use as late as I dare when growing the crop.
“This AxioBib 2 is the biggest tyre we can have, without going too wide for the road or for the crop in the field. We do have to move to a narrow row-crop wheel eventually, but we want to keep this tyre on as late into the spring as possible, so the 650 width is ideal.
“Because these tyres are so tall, they give me the clearance I need when spraying the crop. They can carry heavy weights at very low pressures, while the speeds they can give me are as good as you can get.”
The Horsch Leeb 8.300 PT is being used for spraying Flawborough Farms’ combinable crops, including wheat, barley, beans, hybrid rye and maize. It is fitted with an 8,000 litre fertiliser tank and a 36 metre boom.
