Long-running Traffic and Tillage project welcomes latest industry collaboration

Posted 30 September 2025

A long-running industry collaboration at Harper Adams has seen a tyre specialist welcomed to the University’s Engineering department.

For more than a decade, the internationally-unique Traffic and Tillage project has been examining how tyre pressures, traffic and tillage can impact the soil on farmers’ fields. The long-term plot experiment uses more than 30 plots and was established in 2011.

It investigates soil properties and crop performance as a result of three traffic systems - Controlled Traffic Farming, Standard Tyre Pressure and Low Tyre Pressure.

The same pattern of very precisely applied vehicular traffic has been applied every year since the beginning of the project – thanks to real-time kinematic, or RTK positioning - followed by tillage and drilling operations carried out at three different tillage depths.

Research on the project helps demonstrate the impact these various approaches have on the soil in the field and the yields it produces – helping farmers to make decisions which could boost the sustainability of their farming.

Senior Lecturer in Soil and Water, Dr Paula Misiewicz has helmed the project since its establishment and was named the winner of this year’s Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) President’s Award for her work.

She said: “The goal of this initiative is to help reduce soil compaction, promoting healthier soil management and sustainable farming practices.

“Our specially-designated site, near the University’s Agricultural Engineering Innovation Centre (AEIC) facilitates both international research and industry-focused collaboration.”

The Traffic and Tillage project had four partner sites across the globe which carry out similar investigations – and has also seen collaboration with a host of industry partners.

Among a wide variety of industry partners, the project has worked regularly alongside the world-renowned tyre manufacturer Michelin – such as a study in 2021 which found running low-pressure tyres could boost farmers’ yields and help them feed the world more sustainably.

In the latest collaboration, the Traffic and Tillage team welcomed Tom Saunders, Michelin’s Beyond Road Account Manager, whose role sees him acting as a link between the company’s Research and Development teams, academics and experts such as those at Harper Adams University, and farmers in the field.

Post-doctoral Research Associate Dr Magdalena Kaczorowska-Dolowy added: “Together, we worked on optimizing tyre pressures for a combine harvester by setting them to the lowest possible inflation pressure.

“This partnership highlights Harper Adams University's commitment to innovative research and fostering strong ties with industry leaders to advance agricultural technology and sustainability.”