Recognising the global trend for larger farms and herds, Krone has focused on greater efficiency and higher outputs with its product launches
One of the more unique products launched by the company at its headquarters in Spelle is the Swadro BaleTrain 880 TC Pro, which enables a round baler to be attached to the rear of the company’s twin-rotor rake, reducing the fuel and manpower required to bring in the grass crop.
The rake uses a K80 ball-head hitch to attach to the tractor and has a forced steering system to follow the tractor tracks. The drivetrain to the rake continues out to the rear via a splitter gearbox. The drive to the rotors can be adjusted to run at different speeds or completely decoupled by switching to neutral.
At the rear, an Isobus connector and hydraulic valves are mounted to attach the round baler. The baler follows the steering axle of the rake, meaning the whole unit stays in line over the swath, even during cornering – although you do need a wide turning circle at the headland.
This isn’t just linking two machines together. New software enables several functions to be handled automatically. The AutoBale system lifts both the pick-up and the rake rotors when the netting system is activated and does the same when the train is reversed. To ensure a consistent flow of product into the pickup, the baler can also use the forced steering system to shift the rake to the left or right.
On the day, we saw it combined with a ComPack baler/wrapper combination, and while there was no clear indication of which round balers will be compatible with the new BaleTrain concept at this point, it seems logical to suggest that most if not all of the company’s own machines will be suitable, although older machines would like lose some of the automatic functionality.
Similarly, it was suggested that the system could eventually be rolled out to work with balers from other manufacturers, although again, this would come with reduced functionality.
