Based in Kildavin in Co Carlow at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains, Alfie Byrne is located just miles from the town of Bunclody.

Alfie started out cutting silage on hire in 1991 with a Kidd double-chop harvester, with a 6ft 6in cutting width. Two years later, he made the move to a Pöttinger MEG5 trailed harvester, before buying a used New Holland 1900 self-propelled forager in 1995.

In 2000, he upgraded to a four-year-old Claas Jaguar 860 and, in 2007, made the jump to a Claas Jaguar 850, his first new forager.

In the business over 30 years, Alfie has just upgraded to his third new Krone Big X harvester since 2016.

Why Krone?

“My previous 2007 Jaguar 850 was an absolutely brilliant harvester. It never let us down. In 2016, I felt it was time to upgrade once again to a new machine. We demonstrated a Krone Big X 530 the previous season and we really liked it. We were very impressed with its ability to handle lumpy swaths of grass and it was seriously comfortable.

“It was coming with a lot more specification as standard in comparison to the other brands on the market, and Krone invited us over to see the factory.

“My harvester driver, Glenn, was very fond of it and the Big Xs were still fresh on the scene at the time so Farmhand and my local dealer Jim Power were very keen to sell.

“One motto I always go by in this business is never be afraid to change. We bought the forager with a three-year full warranty package and upgraded it to a new Big X 530 again in 2019 with the three-year same warranty package. Likewise we have a new Big X 580 purchased for the coming silage season with the same package,” explained Alfie.

Pickup

The Krone EasyFlow header uses a camless pickup system. Krone claims the camless pickup has 58% fewer moving parts compared with a conventional pickup and operates 30% faster.

The camless pickup reel comes with six rows of tines in a W-arrangement. Krone says the reasoning behind this is to provide a consistent crop flow and to catch the little bits of grass that can escape the ends of the header on the headlands.

“Up until we get into the long hay-type old meadow grass in June/July, the header works away with no issues whatsoever. We have found that the long grass later in the season has a tendency to drag and some will wrap around under the bands. If the grass isn’t taken out it will cause tines to break. Personally, I think the pickup is the Achilles heel of the Big X, and is my only real fault with it. I expressed my concerns to Krone and they have a newly designed header coming with my new forager for the year ahead so I’m looking forward to see what that brings,” explained Alfie.

Intake system

Krone foragers are fitted with six intake rollers, rather than four which other manufacturers use. These rollers are used to compress the grass as it is fed in from the auger on the pickup. As there are six pre-compression rollers, it means there’s a distance of 820mm between the front roller and the rear roller.

Krone claims such a distance is required to ensure that if any metal is detected, the slip clutch will initiate before the metal hits the drum. Tension springs are used to keep pressure on these rollers.

“I’m a big fan of the six rollers over the four. I think it helps create a more even flow of grass into the drum. Its ability to handle lumps is one of the main reasons I went with Krone. This, alongside the spring-loaded plate under the drum and the spring-loaded plate at the back of the blower, take the strain created by lumps off the driveline. It also means there isn’t near the same pull placed on the engine. At worst, you will lose a small bit of blow in the blower, but you won’t lose speed in the drum,” explained Alfie.

If the engine speed falls below 1,200rpm with an increasing load, the intake and header are stopped automatically, while the chopping drum is running to prevent any blockages due to slow rotational speeds. The four narrow body foragers (Big X 480-630) have a crop flow channel of 630mm, while the larger wider body models (630-1180) have a crop flow channel of 800mm.

Alfie’s machines have all been equipped with a 20-knife drums.
Drum

When Krone initially began building foragers, the company’s design brief was based on high horsepower machines capable of producing a short chop length for the biogas industry, predominantly in Germany. Nowadays, the company offers four different drums with variations from 20 knives up to 40 knives.

Alfie’s machines have all been equipped with a 20-knife drum. The hydraulic drive of the intake system means the operator can choose between setting the cutting length manually or automatically.

Krone uses MTU engines in its narrow-body foragers (models 480-630).
Engine and driveline

Krone uses MTU engines in its narrow-body foragers (models 480-630) and Liebherr engines in its wider body foragers (models 680-1180). Although Alfie is moving to a 580 this year, from the previous two 530 machines, he explained that it’s the yards he works in that restrict him from going for a larger forager.

“We all love power and always want more. We work in a lot of small yards where pits were built to carry a certain number of acres 20 years ago, but with herd expansion, these pits are now being tasked with carrying double the grass.

“More power would only be wasted, as you can’t rush these jobs and need to give the loader operator time to deal with the grass and allow him to do a good job. We also fit a 6.2m wholecrop header and an eight-row maize header, both of which the 530 is well able to handle so power isn’t an issue.”

Krone transversely (sideways) mount the engine to allow for direct drive of the drive pump, the drum, the blower and the pumps from the header and intake through the use of belts. All components for crop flow are activated through belt coupling.

The Big X foragers are driven hydrostatically using Bosch-Rexroth wheel motors. Krone says this drive concept frees up space to fit a larger-diameter chopping drum in the machines and offers additional ground clearance. The wheel motors have a maximum speed of 40km/h. One point Alfie was quick to note was the comfort of the independent wheel suspension system, and the tight turning circle.

The Big X foragers share the same cab as the Big M self-propelled mower. Alfie also pointed out the high positioning of the operator in the cab, even more so than in other brands, was key for good visibility.

With six full seasons completed using Krone Big X foragers, Alfie said that, overall, he is pleased with the machines.

“The Big Xs have gone well for us over the years. We would do a lot of the maintenance work ourselves. Initially, I found the parts expensive but they have since come back in price and are now on par with the other manufacturers.

“I’m very happy with the build quality and features in the machine. As I already said I feel the pickup is the weakest point on the machine.

“There are days I could break six or seven tines if the grass and conditions went against us. But I am looking forward to seeing the newly designed header. I think it’s a serious machine to handle lumps, and the extra feed rollers and spring-loaded plates really take the strain off the engine and driveline which is very important. I’ve a new Big X 580 purchased for the year ahead so I’ll be sticking with Krone for the time being anyway,” laughed Alfie.

The Big X foragers share the same cab as the Big M self-propelled mower.

History of the Krone Big X

The first 540hp version of the Krone Big X self-propelled forage harvester rolled off the production line in Spelle, Germany, over 20 years ago.

This came after Krone decided to solely focus on the production of grass equipment shortly after it left both the tillage and manure spreader sectors in the early 1990s.

According to Bernard Krone, the firm wanted to focus on a niche sector. It began manufacturing round balers, big balers and forage wagons.

Shortly afterwards, the Big M was developed. When news broke that Krone was developing a self-propelled forage harvester, it took the industry by surprise.

With annual sales of units at 2,000 to 2,500 at the time, Krone set out to capture 20% of the global market.

To lay down a marker, Krone set about offering higher horsepower foragers with bigger headers than the opposition at the time. Since Krone entered the self-propelled forager game in May, 2000, the firm has built 5,300 foragers.

Having undergone over 20 years of developments, the Big X range now comprises eight models, ranging from 490hp up 1,156hp, with the Big X 1180 being the world’s most powerful forager.

  • Model: Krone Big X 530.
  • Engine: 12.8l six-cylinder MTU.
  • Horsepower: 530hp.
  • Transmission: hydrostatic wheel motors.
  • Max road speed: 40km/h.
  • Drum: 20 knives.
  • Feed rollers: six.
  • List price: €495,000 plus VAT.
  • From left: Shane Byrne (Alfie's son) and Glenn Rothwell, the machine driver.