- The reason why farmers put old car tires on feed piles
- EPA tire waste regulation restricts the usage of tires on farms
- Additional concerns about the environmental impact of tires
Old car tires have many uses — long after they’ve served their purpose on a vehicle. This includes grounding tires up and mixing them with asphalt to pave roads, using them on playgrounds, and constructing a wall or barrier. Also, if you’ve ever driven in a rural section of the country, you might have seen a rather unusual use for old tires. Many dairy farms have car tires on big white plastic tarps. Why do farms do this?
The reason why farmers put old car tires on feed piles
Old car tires on a dairy farm feed pile | Mark Putzer, MotorBiscuit
The big white plastic tarps with old car tires are feed piles. The growing season for the grass that the cows eat on dairy farms is limited to a specific time of the year. The dairy farms need to feed the cows year-round — and the feed piles enable them to do it.
Depending on the location, the winter is either too snowy or rainy to effectively grow grass. Also, in the middle of summer, it’s too dry — unless irrigated. So, the feed piles enable farms to store grass during the time of the year when the grass is not readily available.
Farmers cut up the grass, put it into a pile, and then compact it. They then cover it with a plastic tarp to protect it from the elements and oxygen. Keeping out oxygen is important. As detailed by Dairy Moos, “Oxygen allows spoilage, but the absence of oxygen allows anaerobic bacteria to ferment the feed and prevent spoilage.”
Old car tires on a dairy farm feed pile | Mark Putzer, MotorBiscuit
So why put old car tires on the white plastic tarp covering the feed piles? The tires provide a good amount of weight on the tarps to help prevent oxygen from seeping into the feed piles. They also help compress the pile and keep the white tarp on it. Furthermore, the tires are easy to move when the farmers need to access the feed pile.
With the tires covering the plastic tarps on the feed piles, farms can typically store the grass for 1-2 years — and sometimes longer — without refrigeration.
EPA tire waste regulation restricts the usage of tires on farms
Old car tires on a dairy farm feed pile | Mark Putzer, MotorBiscuit
A recent regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) affects how farms can use car tires on the feed piles. As reported by The Record, the regulation states that “old tires used to hold down feed storage covers must be cut in half or have holes put in them to keep water from collecting, which gives mosquitoes carrying diseases such as Zika and West Nile virus a place to breed.” The regulation also limits the density for the storage of the tires.
However, many farmers express concerns about the regulation. They say that “cutting steel-belted radial tires leaves metal exposed that can get into the feed and prove fatal to cows.” The pieces of the tires can break off and contaminate the feed silage that the cows eat.
One alternative is to use truck sidewalls, which are large tires with cut-off sides. However, these tires are not as heavy. They don’t hold down the plastic tarps as well — and as a result, allow spoilage by letting in oxygen.
Additional concerns about the environmental impact of tires
Another environmental concern about car tires is water pollution. Earlier this year, researchers from Oregon State University published studies showing that tiny particles shed from tires likely harm freshwater and coastal estuary ecosystems. There are also concerns that tires, with the release of microplastics and nanoplastics, contaminate the water supply for human use.
The authors of the study also proposed several solutions. This includes installing devices on cars that catch tire particles, desire tires that last longer, and installing rain gardens on roadsides to catch tire particles before they enter the environment.
Keyword: Why Do Farms Put Car Tires on Big White Tarps?