Moisture sensing, film binding and tractor implement management (TIM) are some of the new options available on selected Vicon round balers.

The latter automates repetitive tasks such as decelerating the tractor to tie and eject a bale, accelerating it back to its working speed, and opening/closing the baler tailgate.

It is available on the fixed-chamber FixBale 500 and the variable-chamber RV5200 Plus series, provided they’re run on a TIM-ready tractor.

See also: Ultimate guide to buying a round baler 2024

A built-in inclinometer prevents the bale being released in an iffy position on a slope.

Once ejected, the driver simply acknowledges that it’s safe for baling to resume, leaving the tractor to automatically return to a forward speed that suits the swath size.

Buyers of the FixBale 500 can also now spec a film binding setup, thanks to a few modifications to the standard net injection mechanism.

Among the tweaks are a revised braking system, additional rollers and hydraulically operated film groupers that gather the material into a tail that helps with the start and finish of the film binding cycle.

It can handle a range of pre-stretch ratios and roll widths of up to 1.3m.

Elsewhere, an optional “techno pack” brings crop humidity measurements to the RV5200 Plus.

This features a pair of electrodes on a sensor plate in the lower part of the main bale chamber that pass an electric current through the incoming crop.

The resulting data is used to calculate bale moisture in real-time, up to a limit of about 50%. It costs £2,074, plus a further £984 for the licence key.