indiana Prairie Farmer Logo

Mitas Tire demonstration broadcast live on big video screen for everyone at the Farm Progress Show to see.

Tom Bechman 1, Editor, Indiana Prairie Farm

September 28, 2015

2 Min Read

We told you recently about the pneumatic farm tires that Mitas is moving closer to market. Still in a concept phase, a demonstration at the recent Farm Progress Show would indicate that the half-tire, half-track concept is quickly moving along.

Watching a tractor equipped with the tires that look as if they are flat, drive over posts and other objects was only half the value of the demonstration. It was being broadcast live onto a huge video screen that onlookers could look above the tractor cab and see at the same time they watched the tractor move along.

new_technology_helps_display_new_technology_1_635790760349940000.JPG

What was even more amazing was that sometimes the image on the screen was different than the image in front of your eyes on the demonstration track. Cameras and cameramen captured more up close images, perhaps of how well the operator was handling the ride in the cab or of how well the tires were flexing under the tractor. You could watch that on the screen while you saw the tractor moving across the demonstration strip in real time, in live action.

The result was an eye-popping demonstration that was hard to pull away from. A tractor with regular tires also was part of the demonstration for comparison purposes. It also made an appearance on the big screen.

Imagine what it might have been like at the first Farm Progress Show in 1953. There were field demonstrations, but video cameras the average person could use weren't even around yet. If someone attending the show had a TV, it was likely black and white.

Related: Tire concept could change farm equipment tires as you know them

Odds are good not everyone who attended even had indoor plumbing back home yet. And telephones were something you talked on or listened on – sometimes to the neighbors too because you likely had a party line.

The Mitas demonstration of this tire was fascinating, but so was the way they chose to display it. The Farm Progress Show is as much about the technology used to promote technology as it is modern farm implements themselves.

About the Author(s)

Tom Bechman 1

Editor, Indiana Prairie Farm

Tom Bechman is an important cog in the Farm Progress machinery. In addition to serving as editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer, Tom is nationally known for his coverage of Midwest agronomy, conservation, no-till farming, farm management, farm safety, high-tech farming and personal property tax relief. His byline appears monthly in many of the 18 state and regional farm magazines published by Farm Progress.

"I consider it my responsibility and opportunity as a farm magazine editor to supply useful information that will help today's farm families survive and thrive," the veteran editor says.

Tom graduated from Whiteland (Ind.) High School, earned his B.S. in animal science and agricultural education from Purdue University in 1975 and an M.S. in dairy nutrition two years later. He first joined the magazine as a field editor in 1981 after four years as a vocational agriculture teacher.

Tom enjoys interacting with farm families, university specialists and industry leaders, gathering and sifting through loads of information available in agriculture today. "Whenever I find a new idea or a new thought that could either improve someone's life or their income, I consider it a personal challenge to discover how to present it in the most useful form, " he says.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like