All About the Yields: How Hust Farms Transformed Yields with Custom Tractor Wheels

When it comes to row crop farming, the bottom line is all about yields. And when you plant 7,000 acres of corn and 6,000 acres of soybeans in Kentucky, you do all you can to improve your yields.

Josh Lancaster has been involved with L. Hust Farms, located in Slaughters, Kentucky, for 18 years. The farm includes crops, commercial poultry and drainage services. He and his brother, Kyle, purchased the operation from the Hust family in 2022.

Unlike regions of the Midwest that enjoy naturally nutrient-dense soils, growing crops on Kentucky farmland often requires additional steps such as side-dressing crops, which involves applying nitrogen to improve soil structure and promote healthy plant growth.

Because of the extra steps needed to ensure his yields each year, Lancaster is always looking for ways to add efficiency to the operation. One area in particular has been reducing compaction in his fields.

“Compaction is yield limiting. The roots hit those compacted zones and won't grow through them. Therefore, the roots can’t access nutrients. You're not getting the root growth that you need. You’re not going to grow the crop that you need. It also limits water infiltration. If you’ve got a compacted area, water won't go in the soil like you want it to,” Lancaster says.

Lancaster had already removed four inside tires from his two John Deere 8285R tractors used for side-dressing corn. He knew using a wider tire footprint and staying within guidance lines would decrease compaction, allowing more efficient and precise nitrogen delivery, and fewer stalks taken down by equipment.

So, when the tires on his John Deere 8285R tractors started to wear, Lancaster decided to seize the opportunity to customize wheels on his tractors and pull-applicator to fight soil compaction, ultimately improving yield.

The catch: Factory tire and wheel options weren’t available for what Lancaster was trying to achieve.
The solution: Customize exactly what he needed with Ziegler Tire and Wold Rim & Wheel.

Lancaster has worked with Ziegler Tire general manager Kenny Critser throughout his years at Hust Farms. He calls Critser his “go-to guy” for tires.

“He’s who I’m going to call first if it’s anything in the tire or track world,” Lancaster says.

With more than 30 years in the tire business, Critser knows his way around ag tires. And as a Wold Rim & Wheel dealer, he recognized this wasn’t an average request. He knew Ziegler could provide the tires, but Lancaster would need more than specialty tires. Critser suggested Wold to get exactly what was needed for the project.

“This was out of the norm because of the weight. The farther the wheel gets away from the machine, the less weight it can carry. It puts more stress on the axles and the adapter plates that extend your wheels out. So, this was very specialized,” Critser says.

A Custom Solution

Critser connected Lancaster directly with Wold’s product and engineering teams. Wold product manager Justin Kruger says direct customer communication is helpful with customized requests because of the possible variations on the same equipment model based on options.

“This is not like going to your auto parts store and going to the book and saying, ‘I have a 2015 Dodge pickup. This is my windshield wiper.’ When that tractor was brand new, it could have been offered in multiple tire sizes and different wheel styles,” Kruger says. “So, it’s really a project about trying to identify what is currently on the tractor, what the customer desires, and what we need to do to get there.”

Lancaster appreciated the firsthand involvement in the project he envisioned with equipment that he bought new, has owned for quite some time — and knows better than others.

“I forwarded all the information to Kenny and immediately he put me in touch with the guys at Wold. He stayed involved with the process as much as he needed, but he also knew when we needed the right information to go from me straight to them,” Lancaster says. “Working with those guys (Wold) through email, phone, whatever, it went really well. Wold made it as simple as they could.”

In three weeks’ time, the Wold team had manufactured 12 total wheels for the side-dressing rigs that Lancaster had envisioned.

His two John Deere 8285R tractors were each outfitted with two single front 380/85R46 tires set on 46-inch-diameter and 12-inch-wide wheels. Two VF480/95R54 tires were positioned on 54-inch-diameter and 16-inch-wide rear wheels centered on 120-inch spacing.

The tractors are each coupled with a pull-applicator fitted with two IF380/105R54 tires on 54-inch-diameter and 12-inch-wide custom wheels centered in 120-inch spacing.

The Right Wheels Yield More

Since installing the wheels in early spring, Hust Farms has side-dressed more than 1,000 acres of corn crops with the rigs, and Lancaster says, “They’re working just like we thought they would.”

The efficiency gained from less compaction, coupled with better ride quality and safer handling, makes the change seem like an obvious choice, but Lancaster knows others might wonder why he didn’t simply use tracks.

“Everybody’s like, why don't you just get tracks? Well, for one, they cost a whole lot more. You wear them more going up down the road and they don't trade as well,” he says. “So, we’re looking at the business model side of it. With the right set of tires and a central tire inflation system, you can start to mirror what a track is accomplishing for less money.”

Lancaster adds that once you get the right wheels on a tractor, you’ll get more hours and have less maintenance than tracks. He likes the simplicity of wheels, especially when they’re customized to his specifications. He encourages other farmers to consider doing the same and guarantees, “You’ll see the advantages that come from it are well worth it.”

To learn more about boosting yields with custom wheels, contact your Wold dealer.

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