GMO crops so tough that farmers are turning to Kevlar tractor tires

Take genetically modified organisms (GMO) for instance. For now, let’s ignore the controversy over its safety, usefulness and ethical issues. The main issue for those guys actually growing and harvesting the stuff is much more practical. As it turns out, corn modified to stand tall and tough against pests is also wreaking havoc on tractor tires.

Mark Newhall of Farm Show Magazine tells American Public Media’s Marketplace that after the stalks are cut during harvest, the leftover stubs are like “having a field of little spears.”

So instead of tractor tires lasting the usual five to six years, they’re getting chewed up after just one or two years. One tractor tire can cost thousands of dollars, and some tractors have as many as eight tires.  

New technologies almost always have unintended consequences, but this one wasn’t one I see coming…

Source: autoblog.com

16 August 20

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