One of the cleverest pieces of kit at the show was Krone’s Ultima non-stop baler-wrapper. Though others have tried in the past, Krone says this is the first one that works properly.

The new machine uses the company’s existing semi-variable bale chamber. However the key to its success is a pre-compression chamber. This consist of two nearly-parallel belts, the top one running anticlockwise and the bottom one going clockwise. Once the previous bale is complete, it rolls by gravity into the wrapper unit.

Meanwhile the two belts stop and straw coming from the pick-up and rotor is allowed to build up in a reservoir. Crucially, the straw is allowed to compress so that when the next bale is ready to be started, there’s a good quantity of material to start the core.

Bales of 1.25m to 1.5m can be made and the machine can produce a bale every 40 seconds – ie 90 in an hour. The machine probably won’t be available to UK farmers and contractors for another year or two and cost is likely to be around the £100,000 mark. 

For a more detailed report with video visit Power Farming

Agritechnica 2011