XtraBlatt Issue 02-2021

2 

2021 

XtraBlatt 

WOOD AS A RAW 

MATERIAL 

Versatile GX transports biomass in forestry work 

HAY FOR TRUE 

CONNOISSEURS 

German farmers produces 

top-notch horse feed 

TWICE AS GOOD 

NIR sensor technology on 

harvesters and spreaders

EDITORIAL 

DEAR READERS 

The winter months are the peak season at 

the Krone factory. Struggling with bottle - 

necks in some supply chains, the entire 

team of the agricultural machinery factory 

is working hard to complete all orders on 

time. 

Thumbing through this issue, you will come across images 

and topics that may make you wonder: Why have we 

chosen timber as the cover story for XtraBlatt? And why 

has the GX, our new general-purpose wagon, been given 

such prominence? Is Krone intending to get back into the 

production of agricultural trailers? Or even to start building 

woodchippers? 

Well, that’s one thing we are definitely not planning to do. 

There are, however, two things that are more important 

than ever for the farming community, namely improving 

the efficiency of machines and finding ways to earn a 

good income in and from agriculture. That’s why it makes 

absolute sense for us as one of the leading international 

specialists in harvesting equipment and commercial vehicles 

to also develop transport solutions for farmers. The latest 

example is the GX, which we are convinced will open up a 

wide range of opportunities for our customers. And timber 

is a product that continues to be an important source of 

income for many farms. 

Adapting to changing market conditions has always been 

our guiding principle, but given the current business environment, 

this is harder than ever. Our industry has not 

experienced such a turbulent period for many decades. Of 

course, major challenges and structural disruptions have 

repeatedly been on the agenda - be it bottlenecks in the 

supply of components, sharp drops in producer prices or 

radical changes in agricultural policy. But for all of this to 

come at once and accompanied by drastic price increases, 

detrimental supply shortages in all sectors, climate change 

AND a societal transformation that seems to fundamentally 

question agriculture in its current form – that’s what I call 

extreme. There will be no easy solutions, and I suspect that 

the current difficulties will not be resolved any time soon. 

It is therefore all the more important that politicians are 

fully aware of what is at stake in their policy discussions and 

decision making. German farmers are not only among the 

most productive and most sustainable food producers in the 

world; they need enormous financial and political support 

in the transformation that they are expected to make – and 

considerably more than what has been tabled so far. You can 

rest assured that we at Krone will be lobbying hard with all 

the means at our disposal. Meanwhile, I hope that you can 

nevertheless enjoy the holidays ahead with confidence. 

Agriculture has a future – of that, I am firmly convinced! 

Best wishes Bernard Krone 

3

4 5 

PUBLISHING 

INFORMATION 

Publisher: 

Maschinenfabrik 

Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG 

Heinrich-Krone-Straße 10 

D 48480 Spelle 

Tel.: +49(0)5977/935-0 

info.ldm@krone.de 

www.krone.de 

Responsible according to German press law: 

Markus Steinwendner 

Editorial office: 

Beckmann Verlag GmbH & Co. KG 

Rudolf-Petzold-Ring 9 

D 31275 Lehrte 

www.beckmann-verlag.de 

Designers: 

Beckmann Verlag GmbH & Co. KG 

Rudolf-Petzold-Ring 9 

D 31275 Lehrte 

www.beckmann-verlag.de 

Printers: 

Bonifatius Druckerei 

Karl-Schurz-Straße 26 

D 33100 Paderborn 

Photos and artwork: 

Unless otherwise stated: 

Maschinenfabrik 

Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG 

or editor 

p8-9 Möslinger (3) 

p12 Spycher (1) 

p14-17 Egger Holzwerkstoffe 

p21 Hüsecken (1) 

p26-27 Messer 

p32-34 Hüting (2) 

p38 Höller (2) 

p41 Jelca Kollatsch, Demography Agency 

Zukunftsfest 

p44 Agrartechnik Sachsen (1) 

p48 Lind 

p55-59 Katslösa Agro (1) 

Circulation copy number: 38,000 

English translation: trans-agrar 

XtraBlatt is published twice a year for customers 

in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 

Any reprint, inclusion in electronic databases 

and reproduction on CD-ROM requires the 

permission of the publisher. 

We send out the Krone-XtraBlatt twice a year. 

Should you no longer wish to receive the 

publication, please let us know, preferably 

by e-mail sent to info.ldm@krone.de. We will 

naturally remove you from our distribution list 

immediately. Any data we receive from you 

will be treated confidentially and will only be 

used to process your enquiries and feedback. 

We do not pass on any data to third parties. 

CONTENTS 

CONTENTS 

5 

3 Editorial 

Editorial 

6 Hackgut Möslinger, Austria 

Hackgut Möslinger, Austria : Think big, chop small 

10 

10 The Spycher family, Switzerland: Branching out 

14 

14 Egger Holzwerkstoffe: Barking up the right tree 

18 

18 Hüsecken Gbr, Tiefendorf: The feed optimisers 

22 

22 Krone Group: “If we have rules, they must be the same for everyone.” 

26 

26 NIR Control dual Sensor: One sensor – two applications 

32 

32 Timing is key in maize: Earlier than expected 

35 

35 Calendar 2022: From fans for fans 

36 

36 Höller livery stables, Lindlar: Hay for true connoisseurs 

Höller livery stables, Lindlar: Hay for true connoisseurs 

40 

40 News ticker 

42 

42 Agrartechnik Sachsen: Ready to take on the future 

45 

45 Validation Centre: Officially inaugurated 

46 

46 Loader, rakes, wrappers: Innovations for 2022 

48 

48 Livestock farming: Enough is enough! 

50 

50 Smart Support: "The customer has the key." 

54 

54 SmartConnect Solar: Box to go 

SmartConnect Solar: Box to go 

56 

56 Katslösa Agro, Sweden: For horses just the best 

Katslösa Agro, Sweden: For horses just the best 

26 

KNOWLEDGE 

NIR CONTROL DUAL SENSOR 

ONE SENSOR – 

TWO APPLICATIONS 

27 




Near infrared spectroscopy, 

or “NIR” for short, is an acronym 

for a technology that 

allows users to gain deep 

insights into nutrient levels 

of silage and slurry, for example. 

Jens-Peter Messer 

uses the technology for 

optimising the processes 

on his farm 

Farmer and contractor Jens-Peter Messer goes about 

his work in a region where other people spend their 

holidays. His arable farm is situated 10km from the coast 

line of the Baltic Sea where he farms approx. 750ha of 

land, operates five biogas plants of an installed capacity of 

5.9MW, manages a contracting company that employs 14 

people and rents out five holiday cottages and 11 holiday 

apartments to tourists. “We never get bored around here,” 

tells Jens-Peter and adds: “In addition to this farm here in 

Stolltebüll, we bought another 750ha grassland and arable 

farm in the south of Denmark in 2017.” 

Jens-Peter is quite aware that his machine fleet is a bit 

oversized for the acreage they cover every year. He explains: 

“Two Krone BiG X forage harvesters – an 880 and a 630 – 

take care of harvesting our own approx. 900ha of maize 

and two customer fields. This means, our machines are a bit 

over the top, but with the two farms situated 60km apart, 

Contractor Jens-Peter Messer (right) 

and his manager Malte Carlsburg use 

a dual NIR sensor on a Holmer slurry 

trac with a Zunhammer tank and on a 

Krone forage harvester. 

“NIR” – HOW IT WORKS 

Near-infrared spectroscopy, NIR spectroscopy or NIRS 

/ NIR for short is a physical analysis technology that 

is based on spectroscopy in the short-wave infrared 

light range (Source: Wikipedia). A light shines on 

the medium to be analysed which in turn reflects 

the light. The sensor measures the reflection and 

compares the result to the data stored. 

32 

KNOWLEDGE 

TIMING IS KEY IN MAIZE 

EARLIER THAN 

EXPECTED 

It is important to start measuring dry matter contents 

(DM) in silage maize well ahead of harvest and then keep 

going up to harvest which is best when DM is 32–34%. 

Also, cuts should be shorter than 9mm and the stubble 

as high as 50cm. This is the recipe for high-quality maize 

silage, says vet André Hüting 

33 


EARLIER THAN 

EXPECTED 

I n grain, farmers measure moisture levels 

down to a tenth percent accuracy before 

they move into the field whereas for maize 

they are happy with a rough guess. “Yet, 

experience shows that the maize harvest 

is usually delayed far too long until DM 

contents are developing towards the 38- 

40% threshold. Yet at this DM level, the 

silage is much more difficult to compact. 

Compacting is best at 32–34% DM, André 

is convinced. He and his colleagues run 

a veterinary practice which is linked to 

their consulting firm “KuhBlick”. For many 

percentage. “The procedure was repeated 

after a number of days – depending on the 

weather. This helped us watch the ripening 

process," he explains. 

In fact, the crop ripened fast in the light 

soils of the Rhine valley, also because of the 

lack of rain and high temperatures. “Most 

farmers were planning to start harvest 

not before the end of September, but that 

would have been too late,” comments 

André. When DM levels in the first stands 

reached the proper percentages, André gave 

the contractors the go-ahead for the 7th of 

September. 

The vets look after the feed quality of 

approximately 200 dairy and beef farmers, 

each of whom grows 40–60 hectares of 

maize, which totals to 10,000 hectares. 

The aim is also to collaborate with the contractors 

in the region to get the optimum 

harvest date for each individual stand. 

“The contractors appreciate that very 

much, because this allows them to deliver 

the best-quality feed and at the same time 

reduce the time pressure. When all farmers 

want to harvest at the same time – which is 

typically the case – the haulage chains don’t 

really cope or at least not at the required 

quality. Yet, by analysing the stands by soil, 

variety and maturity at an early stage and 

in all fields, they can schedule accordingly. 

A win win. 

Each sampling costs €15. Although the price 

doesn’t really cover the costs, they consider 

it part of their consultancy service. Another 

motivation is to raise the awareness for 

what is the best time for harvest. “The 

increase in quality is enormous,” is his conclusion 

when he looks at the results. “We 

also checked the quality with the particle 

separator and found it was excellent. 7mm 

chops and cracked kernels really speak for 

themselves. And the operators who do 

the rolling on the clamp have confirmed 

that they were able to get a top-notch 

compression from a 32–33 % DM crop. This 

in turn helps enormously with fermenta- 

Veterinarian André Hüting: “Experience 

shows that maize harvests usually begin 

far too late when the DM levels are close to 

38–40%, which is too high.” 

years, they have been offering advice and 

assistance in all aspects of dairy and beef 

cattle husbandry and feeding for improving 

animal health and performance. XtraBlatt 

has repeatedly reported about their activities. 

The vets consider feed quality of grass 

and maize silage as an integral part of these 

issues. This year they added another detail 

to their service: the analysis of DM levels in 

maize silage which is carried out before the 

forager actually moves into the field. This 

service allows farmers to assess the ripeness 

of their crop by using scientific figures for an 

optimum timing of the harvest. 

AN EARLY START 

To do that, they cut five plants from each 

maize field of their clients, making sure 

these were cut in different patches. Then 

the plants were shredded with a regular 

garden shredder, tells André. Next, the 

material was mixed and a 500g sample 

was removed from the mix. This was poured 

into a food processor for further shredding. 

After that, the material was analysed in 

their own lab to determine the exact DM 

46 

KNOWLEDGE 

LOADING, RAKING, WRAPPING 

INNOVATIONS 

FOR 2022 

Krone has added several new products to its range for the 2022 

season. We present three of them in this issue of XtraBlatt 

THE GX GENERAL-PURPOSE WAGON 

JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES WITH A 

WORLD-FIRST FEATURE 

The GX impresses by its versatility and 

exceptionally gentle yet speedy unloading. 

Available in 44m³ and 52m³ sizes, the GX 

440 has a tandem axle whereas the GX 520 

runs on a tridem setup; all come with an 

ISOBUS-compatible control unit. 

A robust fabric belt, two chains and the 

plexiglass headboard constitute the unloading 

unit which is powered by two hydraulic 

motors. As soon as the GX is in position, the 

chains pull the floor belt and the headboard 

towards the tailgate. A world first in this 

context is the Krone ExactUnload feature. 

For example, to set up a fresh clamp, the 

operator simply enters the desired length to 

the console. After that, the GX controls the 

unloading rate automatically and relative to 

the forward speed of the tractor. When the 

GX arrives at the end of the pre-set length, 

it is completely empty. By default, the floor 

moves at a rate of eight metres per minute, 

and this can be doubled in fast mode. Thus, 

the GX 440 is cleared out in approximately 

40 seconds. 

The GX also scores high marks for its exceptionally 

low kerb weight. It can increase 

its volume by telescoping the extensions 

hydraulically by another up to 700mm. 

Very practical indeed are also the rubber 

strips that seal the side walls, preventing 

any losses when hauling fine bulk materials 

such as grain or rape. 

47 

SWADRO S 380, S 420 AND S 460 SINGLE ROTOR RAKES 

MORE OPERATOR COMFORT, 

MORE PERFORMANCE 

For the new season, Krone is adding three 

new single-rotor rakes to its range – the 

Swadro S 380, S 420 and S 460. What 

they all have in common is the compact 

headstock that couples to a three-point rear 

linkage. This reduces the load on the front 

axle by up to 10% compared to other trailed 

designs, translating into less power required 

for lifting so that even smaller lightweight 

tractors can take on swathing. The swathing 

curtains are folded and adjusted conveniently, 

the rotor height is controlled with 

down to the millimetre precision, and the 

tine arms are folding with gap- and wearfree 

connections. 

The flexible connection between the main 

frame and the headstock is provided by a 

ball joint and roller in a slotted hole thereby 

implementing the Krone Jet Effect which 

prevents the tines from damaging the sward 

when raising / lowering on the headland. 

Another practical feature is the auto-centring 

mechanism when lifting the rake. 

The tracking mechanism with balancing 

arm leads to quiet and controlled tracking 

behind the tractor as well as tightest headland 

turns and clean rakes in corners. All 

new rakes have maintenance-free drivelines 

with overrunning clutches, so Swadro can 

coast smoothly on tractors with electronic/ 

hydraulic pto brakes. 

EASYWRAP 165 T BALE WRAPPER 

ONE FOR THE 

PROFESSIONALS 

The new, trailed and two-arm 

EasyWrap 165 T wrapper wraps bales with 

diameters from 1.00 to 1.65 metres. A 

high-performance satellite arm wrapper, 

it effortlessly picks up and processes up to 

1,650kg bales and the wrapping arm orbits 

at impressive speeds of up to 40rpm. The 

drawbar swivels hydraulically and can carry 

ten additional rolls of film as an option. 

The 750mm film offers 55% or 70% prestretch 

according to user preference. After 

the number of wraps and bale size are 

set on the terminal, the rest is calculated 

automatically. At the end of the wrapping 

cycle, the film is cut and fixed in one smooth 

movement while a special mechanism traps 

the end of the roll; there are no annoying, 

loose film ends when working with the 

EasyWrap. 

An optional bale turner is available for the 

EasyWrap 165 T and is triggered from the 

cab at the touch of a button. The entire 

wrapping process – from picking up the bale 

to unloading it – can run fully automatically 

so operators can concentrate on driving. 

48 

FEATURE 

LIVESTOCK FARMING 

ENOUGH IS 

ENOUGH! 

Livestock farmers in Germany are 

being crushed between the millstones 

of rapidly tightening regulations, political 

ignorance and price pressure from the major 

food retailers, says Hubert Schulte. The farmer from 

Saterland in northern Germany has issued this clarion call: 

“Act now, because the clock has already passed midnight!” 

49 

W hat do the national football team and German 

agriculture have in common? For Hubert Schulte, 

a farmer in the municipality of Saterland west of Bremen, 

the answer to this question is clear: “When it comes to the 

national football team, you get the feeling that there are 

81 million coaches out there – each and every one of them 

certain they know where things went wrong in a match 

and, of course, only too willing to tell you how they would 

have done it better. It’s exactly the same with agriculture. 

Very few people understand the context or the facts, but 

everyone claims to know how it should be done.” 

NO ACCOUNT OF REALITY 

Unsurprisingly, many consumers have a romanticised idea 

of agriculture from grandma’s time, while at the same time 

demanding that the strictest quality criteria are adhered 

to and that food prices are kept to a bare minimum. This is, 

after all, an image that is pushed heavily by the advertising 

industry, by the media in general and by certain political parties. 

The result is that conventional farmers are constantly 

vilified as sinners against the environment and perpetrators 

of cruelty to animals. “What really makes me angry is that 

people are being deliberately misled, despite knowledge 

to the contrary.” 

Unfortunately, this also applies to institutions in the agricultural 

sector. As an example, he cites the promotion of 

pasture grazing for dairy cattle as the “non plus ultra” (see 

January 2021 issue of XtraBlatt). “How many farmers in 

Germany have contiguous land of a size that allows them 

to graze a herd of, say, 300 or 400 cows? This is the sort of 

scale at which we have to work nowadays to make a living. 

And do these so-called experts know what grazing means 

for the management of a herd of that size? Demands of this 

kind take no account of reality.” 

THE CONSUMER SHOULD 

BEAR THE COST 

Hubert Schulte’s verdict on organic farming is exactly the 

same. The angry farmer says it is an absolute illusion to 

think food production could completely go organic while 

food prices stay as they are: “If a farmer in this country is to 

make a living from organic products, they will need much 

larger profit margins. But profits are exactly what farmers 

are not getting, which we can see now already. There are 

the strictest regulations producers of organic milk have 

to comply with. Yet the blunt message we get from the 

dairies is that, if we don’t accept their prices, they will just 

source the raw material from abroad. And the same goes 

for organic products. But that’s something the consumer 

isn’t informed about.” 

Hubert Schulte has a similar view of animal welfare 

concepts which he considers to be window dressing. 

He is sceptical of the much-discussed plans in Germany 

that consumers pay a few cents more for meat that was 

produced to animal welfare standards. He says, a few cents 

are not enough to even remotely cover the costs farmer 

incur by complying with regulations. “I have nothing at all 

against new standards being defined in animal husbandry 

or additional investment being made in environmental 

protection. But it is not acceptable that we alone should 

always bear the costs. When you buy a car and order extra 

features you understand that these have to be paid for 

and that fuel consumption will be greater because of all 

the extra electronics making the car much heavier. The 

same principle should also apply to food: higher standards 

involve greater costs which the producers cannot simply 

be expected to absorb. And farmers also need assurances 

about future policy, so that if they invest today, they won’t 

face a completely new regulatory setup tomorrow. That’s 

what is destroying our agriculture.” « 

Hubert Schulte, a farmer from Saterland: “Higher standards involve 

greater costs which producers cannot simply be expected to absorb. And 

farmers need assurances about future policy.” 

56 

INTERNATIONAL 

KATSLÖSA AGRO, RYDSGÅRD (SWEDEN) 

FOR HORSES 

JUST THE 

BEST 

“We produce haylage for around 

2,500 horses,” says Morgan Nilsson, 

the company’s specialist for animal 

feed production. 

57 

K atslösa Agro is located on the south 

coast of Sweden and northwest of 

Ystad. The province of Skåne is one of 

Sweden's most productive farming regions 

that is mainly known for grain. The 1,300ha 

land of Morgan Nilsson and Nicklas Flink 

stretches from Malmö to the east coast 

of Sweden. Even though grassland makes 

up 45% of the Swedish farmland, there is 

only little forage production in the south 

where Morgan and Nicklas grow grass 

on a 550ha area. The rest of their land is 

reserved for grain. Nicklas also manages 

another grain farm in Staffanstorp 50km 

in the northwest whilst Morgan focuses 

on growing forage grass in Katslösa. The 

grass grows on fertile arable land and not on 

permanent grassland as usual. They grow 

grass during three seasons and then rotate 

to oilseed rape, wheat and barley. 

Morgan Nilsson and Nicklas Flink specialise 

in the production of haylage for horses. 

They measure the maturity of the crop to 

determine the optimum timing for the cut 

and also provide their customers nutrient 

with balance sheets on special request. 

The haylage is preserved and stored 

as big or small square bales 

WRAPPING SMALL 

BALES 

The agricultural engineers started with 

only 10ha of land when they founded their 

company in 2005. Both studied at SLU, the 

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 

in Alnarp, and often worked at a contracting 

farm as students and after graduation. 

“Many people tried to bale small HD bales 

but gave up quickly, because there was too 

much manual work involved in it,” explains 

Morgan. “But we have never gave up the 

idea of baling haylage into small bales.” 

The plan was to market horse feed of a 

high quality that met special customer 

requirements. 

From the beginning on, the two entrepreneurs 

invested in high-quality machines 

and financed them by offering contract 

Producing more than 20,000 big bales and 25,000 small bales 

per year, Katslösa Agro is one of the largest haylage producers in 

Sweden. 

SMARTCONNECT SOLAR 

BOX TO GO 

With the telemetric “SmartConnect” 

module having been a feature on the 

BiG lines for quite some time, 

Krone now offers the universal “Smart- 

Connect Solar” module – a transferable 

option for trailed machines that is 

powered by a solar cell 

What do a 40ft container and an agricultural 

rake have in common? 

Not much it seems at first glance, but quite 

a lot at second glance. The common ground 

is – typically in modern times – digitalisation 

and the interconnection of machines 

so these can communicate their data for 

evaluation and further use. These machines 

are mostly self-propelleds – tractors, forage 

harvesters or trucks – all of which have their 

own on-board power sources to power their 

telemetric units. Yet, containers or swap 

frame beds have no on-board power sources. 

And yet, fleet operators want to locate 

54 

KNOWLEDGE 

and identify them at any 

stage in the logistics chain. 

“Therefore, the blue Krone 

division, Commercial Vehicles, 

developed telemetric boxes that are 

powered by solar panels. Introduced in 

2016, these boxes operate autonomously, 

are maintenance-free and so small in size 

that they are easily mounted to containers 

and swap bodies or beds,” explains Stefan 

Niehof. “Today, there are tens of thousands 

in service in the world of logistics.” Stefan 

is one of the product managers of the 

digital “mykrone.green” data portal which 

provides all agricultural Krone customers 

with access to all digital services offered 

by the group. 

“The SmartConnect telemetric boxes have 

been a standard feature on the BiG X and BiG 

M lines and an option on specific machines 

for a number of years now, such as the BiG 

Pack square baler of the fourth generation 

as well as Comprima Plus and VariPack Plus. 

These telemetric features are however also 

very useful for all our products, especially 

for our trailed machines like mowers, rakes 

and tedders. So we took the solar boxes 

from the blue world and adapted them for 

our green world,” Stefan continues. “We 

officially introduced the product in this 

financial year 2021.” 

REAL-TIME DATA 

But what exactly is the benefit of 

such a solar panel which has been 

given the meaningful name 

“SmartConnect Solar”? “Naturally, 

the data that are 

generated by a rake are 

And this is certainly also very useful for the 

less complex machines – mowers, rakes, 

tedders – especially when these are contract 

or leased machines,” continues Stefan. “For 

example, these data help contractors count 

the number of operating hours for billing 

purposes.” 

VERSATILE AND 

UNIVERSAL 

Another benefit of SmartConnect Solar 

is that fleet owners can register all their 

fleet machines – including those of other 

makers – to mykrone.green and then collect 

and transfer information from and to all 

machines running in the harvest chain. 

After all, farmers and contractors usually 

run mixed rather than mono-brand fleets. 

Stefan points out another highlight of the 

new development: The solar box is transferrable 

to other machines. It just has to 

be assigned a different name in mykrone. 

green. “This makes SmartConnect Solar a 

true “box to go” and an intriguing option 

for a consistent data management.” « 

The telemetric “SmartConnect Solar” 

box enables fleet operators to connect 

trailed machines to telemetric services – 

directly and without requiring a tractor or 

other self-propelled. 
























far less complex than those generated by a 

forager,” explains Stefan. “The solar boxes 

feature GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile phone, data logger 

and a web interface so they can transfer 

data in real time to the smartphone, tablet 

or pc, enabling machine owners or fleet 

operators to retrieve position and job data 

from mykrone.green. 

Stefan Niehof is one of the product managers for the 

digital “mykrone.green” data portal. 

55 

22 

INTERVIEW 

KRONE GROUP 

“IF WE HAVE RULES, THEY MUST 

BE THE SAME FOR EVERYONE.” 

23 

XtraBlatt: With the new GX general-purpose 

wagon, Krone has taken a decisive step in 

the direction of haulage equipment. What is 

behind this expansion of the product range? 

Does it mean a greater diversification and a 

move away from being a specialist in green 

forage? 

Bernard Krone: We see ourselves as the 

market leader in the forage harvesting 

sector, but it’s not only recently that we have 

started to branch out into related areas and 

product categories. And precisely because of 

our many years of experience in the manufacture 

of forage wagons and silage trailers, 

it made sense to harness this expertise and 

create new transport solutions. Especially 

as our Commercial Vehicles division and 

subsidiaries such as Knapen have enormous 

knowledge and skills, for example in the area 

of walking floors. The GX is the impressive 

result of many synergies in the group; it 

fills a logical gap in the product range and 

constitutes an exciting new product for the 

transportation of agricultural materials. This 

is an area in which we are extremely well 

versed and a sector in which we can now 

reach out to even more new customers. 

XtraBlatt: Recently, you officially opened 

the Krone “Future Lab” validation centre. 

What is the significance of this new facility 

for your company? 

Krone: Future Lab is more or less the next 

booster stage of our quality offensive which 

we embarked on more than ten years ago. 

In quality management and improvement, 

you can never claim to have actually reached 

any sort of goal, because it is a never-ending 

process. After all, our most important asset 

is customer satisfaction, and the quality and 

KRONE GROUP 



Agricultre is in undergoing profound 

change, dealing with commodity markets 

in turmoil, politicians failing to do their 

jobs and digilisation moving in fast. How is 

KRONE coping with all this? XtraBlatt spoke 

with Bernard Krone, Chairman of the Supervisory 

Board of Krone Holding, about 

current challenges and the group’s investment 

strategy for the future 

42 

PARTNERSHIPS 

AGRARTECHNIK SACHSEN 

READY TO 

TAKE ON THE 

FUTURE 

Dr Marcus Bertelsmeier (l) 

and Dr Steffen Wöbcke 

consider customer service 

a critical factor for business 

success. 

43 

people, very good customer advice and a 

good service programme. Therefore, we’ve 

always aimed at being the benchmark in 

terms of service in this region.” 

CUSTOMER PROXI- 

MITY IS THE KEY 

What started out as a small company with 

ten employees in a small town north of 

Dresden in the year of German reunification 

has by now grown into a company with 

six offices and workshops and around 150 

employees, with almost 80 of these working 

in the workshops and parts departments. 

The sales and service area extends from the 

south of Brandenburg to the south of Saxony 

and to the west nearly as far as Leipzig, 

with sales areas varying by brand. The most 

prominent brands are New Holland, Krone, 

Horsch, Holmer, Grimme, JCB, Strautmann 

and GEA. 

A 7th dealership is coming into operation in 

2023. This, too, is part of the service policy, 

explains Dr Steffen Wöbcke who is head 

of Customer Service: “Customer proximity 

- both literally and figuratively - is very 

important to us. Of course, a dealership is 

always a huge cost factor, but even the best 

mobile service team and the best remote 

diagnose systems are no substitute for a 

proper network of workshops, because 

many customers are not willing to embark 

on a 30-40km road trip to get to the nearest 

workshop – not even in our region with our 

vast fields.” 

The service fleet consists of about 60 

vehicles which carry everything it takes to 

service a high-end machine. Apart from 

that, the service engineers can diagnose 

many malfunctions by using telemetrics. 

“Telemetrics save us and our customers 

a lot of time – provided the technology 

is available in every corner in our region, 

which is not really the case; but we are 

getting there,” adds Steffen. 

FULL RANGE OF 

SERVICE PACKAGES 

In order to cut out downtime altogether, 

predictive maintenance is one of the top 

offers in the service package. And the 

“winter inspection” is great for that. This 

means that the mechatronics inspect the 

machine for any maintenance repairs. At 

the end of the inspection they may suggest 

a possible repair and prepare a quote for 

A gricultural machines such as combines, 

foragers and beet harvesters as well as 

self-propelled sprayers and slurry spreaders 

list among the most demanding machines 

that require a top-notch service from a 

professional agricultural workshop – not 

only when downed in the field but also 

with regard to predictive maintenance. A 

dealership that is in charge of servicing as 

many as about 350 self-propelled machines 

is expected to have a refined service scheme 

in place and plenty of skills and expertise. 

“Deliver the best possible service was my 

father’s overriding tune when he opened 

the business in 1990,” tells Marcus Bertelsmeier 

who runs the firm together 

with his brother Ralph. “Being successful 

at selling machines is one thing though; 

turning buyers into regular customers who 

buy again and again is quite another and 

takes high-end workshops, expert service 

The company is running six operations, with number seven due to open in 2023. 

Being a benchmark service provider is 

more than a claim for the German contracting 

firm Agrartechnik Sachsen. On the 

contrary, an impressive collection of service 

awards bears evidence that the company is 

very serious about it. A particular aspect of 

their philosophy is qualification, a field in 

which they set new standards indeed 

50 

SMART SUPPORT 

“THE CUSTOMER HAS THE KEY.” 

INTERVIEW 

51 

“Smart” is a buzzword in the digital age 

and is mostly used in the sense of “simple, 

easy, better, intelligent” – smart home, 

smart solutions, smart communications. 

Welcome to the future. Digitalisation 

has also moved into farm equipment 

and farming where service engineers use 

telemetry and remote diagnostics as these 

offer a great potential for saving costs. 

For this purpose, Krone is constantly 

expanding its range of digital products 

which are grouped under the “mykrone. 

green” platform. One of the latest innovations 

to be presented at Agritechnica 

2022 is “Smart Support”, i. e. a “better 

support”. XtraBlatt talked to Sebastian 

Tillmann, the product manager of Smart 

Support at Technical Customer Service, 

and Henrik Bauhaus who is in charge of 

Smart Support within in the mykrone. 

green team. 

XtraBlatt: What is the objective of Smart 

Support? 

Henrik Bauhaus: Smart Support is a digital 

application for our service partners and 

industrial end customers. It provides access 

to service-related machine data via an 

internet platform. This helps our service 

partners to get comprehensive and rapid 

support. 

Smart Support is embedded in the Krone 

portal “mykrone.green”, to which our 

customers, Krone service partners and the 

aftersales engineers of the agricultural 

machinery factory have access. With Smart 

Support, it will be possible to retrieve service-related 

data from the machines, such 

as current error messages, the error history 

and the physical location of the machine. In 

addition, the CCI 800 or CCI 1200 terminal 

screens or the readings on the screen can be 

viewed in real time, which of course is an 

enormous help in troubleshooting. 

XtraBlatt: Does that mean that everybody 

– the customer, the engineer and the 

manufacturer – sees the same data? 

SMART SUPPORT 


Digital applications for agricultural equipment offer many benefits – also 

for service engineers. XtraBLatt reports what the Krone “Smart Support” 

has on offer 

36 

HÖLLER LIVERY STABLES, LINDLAR 

HAY FOR TRUE 

CONNOISSEURS 

1 

FEATURE 

37 

For farmer Michael Höller, making 

high-quality hay is way more than simple 

forage production – it’s his passion. 

XtraBlatt visited his farm in Lindlar about 

30km east of Cologne in Germany, to find 

out more 

change which also prompted him to rethink 

his approach and switch from conventional 

to organic farming. 

The decision to give up dairy farming was 

one he had been contemplating for a long 

time. Low milk prices, the pressure to tailor 

his farming practices to prioritise yield and 

performance – Michael Höller had had 

enough of all that. As he has always had 

an affinity with horses, it made sense to 

convert his farm to a livery yard. The Bergisches 

Land is home to several of these 

liveries, since its proximity to the densely 

populated Rhine metropolises of Cologne 

and Düsseldorf and high recreational value 

make it very appealing. Michael Höller soon 

became established in the horse world with 

his particular take on the concept. Livery 

places with him are now highly sought-after 

and the waiting list is long. So what has 

made his livery farm with space for up to 

120 horses so successful? “I didn’t want 

to run a conventional livery yard. Instead, 

Not all green fodder is the same. While 

dairy cows are expected to produce 

milk, recreational horses have to watch 

their weight, so they need different diets. 

Farmer Michael Höller from Lindlar in the 

uplands to the east of Cologne known as 

the Bergisches Land knows exactly what 

cows need in their feed, and horses too. Ten 

years ago he converted his 130ha dairy farm 

to a livery farm for recreational horses – a 

I wanted the horses in my care to live in 

as natural a way as possible”, explained 

Michael Höller. 

KEEPING HORSES 

IN PADDOCKS 

On this farm, it's all about the horse husbandry. 

Only a very small number of horses 

on the farm are housed in conventional 

stables. “Most of our horses live in groups of 

up to 16 in open barns”, says Michael Höller, 

as reflected in the farm's name Bergischen 

Laufstallanlage; a nod to the region and the 

livery system he has devised. Each horse has 

at least 100m 2 of space. There is also a field 

shelter and outdoor hay racks. “Horses are 

herd animals, so keeping them in groups is 

the next best thing to their natural environment”, 

he explains. 

But it's not just the husbandry concept 

that makes places at these livery stables 

so sought after. Another reason is the 

high-quality organic fodder that the 

farmer now produces. "The hay we use is 

nutritious and palatable for the horses, 

but doesn't allow them to gain weight", 

he emphasises. It sounds simple enough, 

but in practice it's not that easy to achieve. 

When it comes to hay production, there 

are numerous variables – starting with 

the choice of grasses and the fertilising 

method, then the harvesting process and 

finally the way in which the fodder is 

offered to the horses. 

1 Michael Höller has converted his 

130ha dairy farm to a livery farm 

for 120 horses. 

2 The horse hay is still fresh and crisp 

even after months of storage. 

3 A passionate haymaker – Michael 

Höller. 

2 

3 

14 

TITLE THEME 

EGGER HOLZWERKSTOFFE 

BARKING UP 

THE RIGHT TREE 

1 

TITLE STORY 

15 

B ut why are we profiling Egger of all companies in 

XtraBlatt? Well, its proprietor Fritz Egger is a farmer, 

too. He runs a dairy farm that also finishes bullocks in St. 

Johann in Tyrol, Austria. Xtrablatt has covered the farm in 

the past. In this issue, though, we are casting the spotlight 

on the company's wood-based panel business, Egger 

Holzwerkstoffe. 

Egger remains a family business to this day. It is owned by 

two brothers, Michael and Fritz Egger, who help define the 

company’s strategic direction. Egger’s group management 

team is now in charge of day-to-day operations. The group 

generated sales in excess of €3bn in the 2020/2021 financial 

year – an 8.9% growth compared with 2019/2020. Its workforce 

is on the increase, too: some 10,400 people worked for 

the company at the end of April 2021. 

Egger runs 20 production facilities in Austria, Germany, 

the UK, France, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Argentina, Poland 

and the US. Its Austrian mills can be found in St. Johann, 

Wörgl and Unterradlberg; the company also has sites 

in the German towns of Brilon, Bevern, Gifhorn, Bünde, 

Marienmünster and Wismar. Altogether, the group made 

9.6 million m 3 of wood-based panels, including lumber, in 

the past financial year. By way of comparison, this figure 

had stood at 8.9 million m 3 in 2019/2020. 

FULLY INTEGRATED 

Egger’s largest German mill is in Brilon, located in the western 

region of Hochsauerland. This site was built from scratch 

in 1990. Today, roughly 1,250 people work there. Brilon is 

the Egger Group’s first fully integrated location and unlocks 

countless synergies. That is to say, all of its manufacturing 

processes operate in a closed loop, from logs to finished 

products. The sawlogs are turned into lumber products 

and the sawmilling residues generated are used to make 

wood-based sheets. What’s more, Egger reuses any leftover 

materials that cannot be recycled, for instance, to generate 

electricity at its own biomass-fired power plant. 

The main materials used by Egger are: timber (89% by 

quantity), paper (1%) and chemicals (10%). Each year, the 

company sources around 12 million tonnes. The timber is 

used to make chips, fibres and strands – the main elements 

used in board production. Its mills need chemical feedstocks 

for the adhesive it uses to bind raw board and to manufacture 

resin for decorative surfaces. Raw and decor paper are 

also required to make coating materials. 

More than 3,000 partner entities supply the group with 

timber. Egger mainly procures three types of timber: 

logs, sawmilling residues and waste wood. The group 

sources logs from around 1,400 suppliers at the moment. 

It goes without saying that timber is the main raw material used 

to make particleboard. And forests are important to many farmers' 

businesses, too. So, XtraBlatt took a look around at Egger Holzwerkstoffe 

and came away having learned a lot about timber 

and the marketplace 

1 Egger turns fresh logs and recycled products 

into particleboard. 

2 The origins of its logs have to be completely 

traceable. 

2 

14 

TITLE THEME 


BARKING UP 


1 

TITLE STORY 

15 

B ut why are we profiling Egger of all companies in 

XtraBlatt? Well, its proprietor Fritz Egger is a farmer, 























































traceable. 

2 

10 

THE SPYCHER FAMILY, 

VAUX-SUR-MORGES (SWITZERLAND) 

BRANCHING 

OUT 

Hailing from Vaux-sur-Morges in the Swiss canton of 

Vaud, David runs a contractor specialising in chipping 

wood primarily harvested from forests between 

Lausanne and Geneva. But no matter what he's doing, 

David always has Krone’s new GX trailer ready to go. 

TITLE STORY 

11 

David Spycher’s farm is nestled in the 

tranquil village of Vaux-sur-Morges, 

around 15km west of Lausanne in the 

Swiss canton of Vaud. Surrounded by small 

vineyards, fields and pastures, the farm sits 

on a plateau above the Morges Valley – with 

a delightful view of Lake Geneva just a few 

kilometres away. Further to the northwest, 

you can take in views of the forest-covered 

mountains of the Swiss Jura. So it’s no 

surprise that this idyllic region draws huge 

numbers of holiday-makers year in, year 

out. 

But it looks like lots of work right now at 

David’s farm. A few steps away from several 

historic-looking homes and businesses, a 

few old barns and stables are in the process 

of being torn down. “We can’t use these old 

low-ceiling buildings, some of which are 

wooden structures, anymore. So instead, 

we're building a big new hall where we 

can store some machinery and large quantities 

of wood chips,” he remarks. With an 

education in farming, David (43) not only 

manages a 52ha farm that produces crops 

and keeps suckler cows; he also operates 

a contractor that covers the entire harvest 

process for fodder crops. That being said, 

making wood chips is a much bigger business 

– and now one of the company’s main 

pillars. “I can’t make enough money for our 

six-person family on farming alone. So I'm 

glad that I entered the commercial wood 

chipping business a short time after taking 

over the farm,” David stresses. 

80 SUCKLER COWS 

The eldest of four children, David took over 

the farm from his parents in 2006. “Dairy 

production was no longer profitable with 

our herd of 35 cows, so we joined forces 

with a neighbouring farm in 2015 and kept 

a total of 70 dairy cows. But just four years 

later, we shut down dairy production altogether 

because it wasn't profitable,” David 

adds. But he wasn’t willing or able to give 

David Spycher is a busy man: along with 

running a farm that includes a herd of 

suckler cows, he also has a successful 

second business as a contractor making 

wood chips 

The deep litter barn, newly built in 2015, offers 

space for 80 suckler cows plus calves. Another 

40 cattle can still be kept in the old barn on the 

farm site. 

10 



BRANCHING 

OUT 






TITLE STORY 

11 













out. 





































wood chips 




farm site. 

6 

TITLE STORY 

HACKGUT MÖSLINGER, GASPOLTSHOFEN (AUSTRIA) 

THINK BIG, 

CHOP SMALL 

7 

Just as the satnav announces “Take the next right”, the 

eye-catching green of the Sennebogen materials handling 

excavator becomes visible through a gap in the hedge. 

When we round the corner into the premises of Hackgut 

Möslinger, we realise that this otherwise imposing machine 

is dwarfed by the size of the main building. Strategically 

positioned in the courtyard is a weighbridge over which 

all vehicles carrying loads to and from the company have 

to pass. 

Philipp Möslinger originally trained to be a carpenter, so he 

has been working with wood for a long time. At some point, 

he had the idea of buying a tractor equipped with a chipper 

to produce wood chips on a large scale. His company slogan 

is “Wood chips from the forest straight to your living room”. 

Business went well and Philipp made further investment 

and hired additional staff. In the meantime, his fleet of 

vehicles has grown considerably to comprise seven trucks, 

two of them semi-trailers with walking floors, three hook-lift 

articulated trucks, a log truck and a four-axle pump tanker. 

Hooking up various trailers and containers to his fleet of 

trucks gives him the flexibility to transport more than just 

logs. In this way, he not only secures his own supply of raw 

materials, but also serves the needs of the timber trade. He 

works in partnership with his brother Mathias, who runs a 

forestry company and uses harvesters and forwarders for 

felling and logging. 

One addition is a thermal trailer for transporting hot tarmac. 

“I originally acquired it to increase the utilisation of the 

tractor units,” says Philipp. “Since then, however, it has tied 

up almost an entire tractor unit because it is used so much. 

Because the tarmac is not dumped but pushed off, it can 

also deposit its load under bridges or in tunnels.” 


THINK BIG, 

CHOP SMALL 

Wood chips are the core business of Hackgut Möslinger, but 

the service portfolio of this contracting company in Upper 

Austria is much broader. Its operations also require suitable 

transport equipment – for example a Krone TX. 

XtraBlatt paid the company a visit 

18 

FEATURE 

HÜSECKEN FARM, TIEFENDORF 

THE FEED 

OPTIMISERS 

19 

It is a sunny morning. The cattle are feeding in the shed. 

Others are lying in their cubicles sleeping. Marc Cassel 

is sitting at his computer checking the data recorded by the 

diet feeder in the past few days. “It’s really important for us 

that the proportion of the components in our basic ration 

are exactly in line with the guidelines and that we stick 

precisely to the mixing times," explains Marc, the future 

son-in-law of co-owner Dirk Hüsecken. Marc is in charge of 

feeding on this mixed farm. 

The family farms around 140ha of grassland as well as 

another 125ha of arable land. There are 220 dairy cows in 

the shed. Along with the calves, almost 500 animals have to 

be fed. “This means we have quite substantial feed requirements," 

Marc says. A trained farmer, he understands the 

importance of feed for milk yields and he does everything 

possible to find the best compromise between milk yield 

and feed costs. 

The successful dairy farm has a long history. The farm got 

a proper boost in terms of development when the brothers 

Dirk and Ulrich Hüsecken got on board. “Back then we had 

twelve cows living in a shed, as well as a few hectares of 

grassland and tillage," Dirk reports. Dirk and his brother 

pursued a consistent growth strategy which focussed in 

particular on purchasing land. The business, which was 

changed to a private company in 2002, now farms 265ha 

and a 220-head dairy herd. 

However, the land bought down through the years is scattered 

over quite a large area, which does not make their job 

any easier. “Our average field size is 2–2.5ha. In addition, 

most of the land is on the slopes on the southern edge of 

the Ruhr Valley.” To nevertheless keep the feed costs under 

control, they have meticulously adjusted their processes to 

these structures over the years, in particular the sequence 

in which the fields are harvested. A contracting business 

Times are hard for milk producers. Things are no different 

on the Hüsecken farm to the south of the Ruhr Valley in 

Germany, where the Hüsecken family keep a worried eye 

on the milk price. However, rather than complaining about 

the situation, the entire family are making adjustments 

where they can, and doing so with great success 

The Hüsecken GbR business 

currently manages around 220 dairy 

cows and the followers.

TITLE STORY 


THINK BIG, 

CHOP SMALL 

Wood chips are the core business of Hackgut Möslinger, but 

the service portfolio of this contracting company in Upper 

Austria is much broader. Its operations also require suitable 

transport equipment – for example a Krone TX. 

XtraBlatt paid the company a visit 

Just as the satnav announces “Take the next right”, the 

eye-catching green of the Sennebogen materials handling 

excavator becomes visible through a gap in the hedge. 

When we round the corner into the premises of Hackgut 

Möslinger, we realise that this otherwise imposing machine 

is dwarfed by the size of the main building. Strategically 

positioned in the courtyard is a weighbridge over which 

all vehicles carrying loads to and from the company have 

to pass. 

Philipp Möslinger originally trained to be a carpenter, so he 

has been working with wood for a long time. At some point, 

he had the idea of buying a tractor equipped with a chipper 

to produce wood chips on a large scale. His company slogan 

is “Wood chips from the forest straight to your living room”. 

Business went well and Philipp made further investment 

and hired additional staff. In the meantime, his fleet of 

vehicles has grown considerably to comprise seven trucks, 

two of them semi-trailers with walking floors, three hook-lift 

articulated trucks, a log truck and a four-axle pump tanker. 

Hooking up various trailers and containers to his fleet of 

trucks gives him the flexibility to transport more than just 

logs. In this way, he not only secures his own supply of raw 

materials, but also serves the needs of the timber trade. He 

works in partnership with his brother Mathias, who runs a 

forestry company and uses harvesters and forwarders for 

felling and logging. 

One addition is a thermal trailer for transporting hot tarmac. 

“I originally acquired it to increase the utilisation of the 

tractor units,” says Philipp. “Since then, however, it has tied 

up almost an entire tractor unit because it is used so much. 

Because the tarmac is not dumped but pushed off, it can 

also deposit its load under bridges or in tunnels.” 

6 7

TITLE STORY 

Tree maintenance work is done with 

the rotating telescopic loader. 

The company operates a storage yard across the German 

border in Hauzenberg where they transfer the wood chips 

to semi-trailers for further transport to customers via the 

motorway. 

and a calorific value of approximately 2kWh/kg. The calorific 

value of dry woodchips with less than 15% water content is 

around 4.5kWh/kg. Further advantages are improved storability, 

a higher energy density and a lower transport weight. 

Apart from that, less ash is produced during combustion, 

emissions are reduced and the plant efficiency is higher. In 

addition to wood chips, the plant can also dry maize, grain 

and wood shavings. 

ENVIRONMENTAL 

PROTECTION 

Hackgut Möslinger has recently branched out into the 

disposal and recycling of waste wood. The key machine 

here is a BA 926 shredder from Jenz. It is mainly fed by the 

Sennebogen excavator with lift cab which we first spotted 

CHIPPER ON THE 

TRACTOR 

The lynchpins of his business are two tractor-trailer combinations 

– a Fendt 1050 Vario with a Jenz 593 Z and a 

942 Vario with a Jenz 583 Z: “Although I have also had a 

truck-based chopper, the tractors give me greater flexibility, 

because they have better off-road capabilities. And with a 

top speed of 50km/h, they are not much slower.” The bigger 

machine handles log diameters of 56cm for softwood and 

45cm for hardwood. 

There are differences in the intake width, which is 1,400 and 

1,200mm respectively. The intake height is 680mm for both. 

The large chipper can process up to 270m³ of wood per hour, 

the small one 240m³. Both have a blower to discharge the 

chips; they are powered by the tractor’s pto. Epsilon Palfinger 

cranes are mounted on each of the chippers, and the tractors 

are reverse drive tractors. 

“Although we have hook-lift trailers and containers, we very 

often transport the wood chips with a tractor plus trailer”, 

explains Philipp. The same advantages apply in terms of 

off-road mobility and transport speed as with the chippers. 

The Tridem trailer is a TX 560 from Krone. I was particularly 

impressed by the low kerb weight which of course increases 

the payload significantly. With a permissible total weight 

of 34 tonnes and a volume of 56 cubic metres, we are still 

operating within the legal limit, even with wet chops. The 

Tridem trailer is really impressive when unloading. The 

body is conical so the cargo can slide better. And the chainand-slat 

floor is enormously fast – the TX 560 empties its 

contents in under a minute,” says Philipp. The trailer is 

Philipp Möslinger, 

founder of 

Hackgut Möslinger in 

Gaspoltshofen, Upper 

Austria. 

usually pulled by a Fendt 724 Vario, but this is reaching its 

limits in terms of power. When we visited the company, the 

942 was therefore pulling the machine, because the small 

chipper was currently not in use. 

Hackgut Möslinger’s vehicles are not only to be found in 

Upper Austria, but also frequently in the Passau region of 

Germany and towards the Czech border. Their radius of 

operation is around 100 kilometres. When chipping takes 

place that far from home, the Krone TX wagon often comes 

along for the ride. The company operates a storage yard 

across the German border in Hauzenberg for loading the 

material into the semi-trailers here and continuing the haul 

on the Germany motorway. 

SHARP KNIVES 

Philipp Möslinger chops a lot of wood for farmers to use for 

their own heating needs. However, he also buys in wood 

chips and trades them on, generally to larger customers 

with combined heat and power plants. The chipping work 

is paid per drum hour, and wood chips are usually invoiced 

in “atro tonnes”, where atro stands for “absolut trocken” 

(absolutely dry). The weight of the wood chips is converted 

to a theoretical water content of 0%. Common wood chip 

qualities are G30, G50 and G80. They stand for the size as 

well as the distribution by size in the individual fractions 

which are obtained by sieving the material through mobile 

screens. 

“High quality is very important for our customers,” stresses 

Philipp Möslinger. “On the one hand, we ensure this by 

using good raw material, mostly pure trunk wood without 

branches and needles. On the other hand, we take great care 

to ensure that the knives are always sharp. If they catch on 

a foreign object, we always have spare knives so that we 

can change them. Grinding is done either on a machine in 

the company workshop or with a cordless grinder on the 

machine itself.” 

Philipp Möslinger has his own use for the best wood chips 

– fine, dry and dust-free: he operates four wood gasification 

plants from the firm Fröhling. The combined heat and power 

units produce a total of 220kW of electricity, which is fed 

into the grid. What matters more for him, however, is the 

thermal output of 460kW, which he uses on the belt drying 

plant for wood chips. Drying is necessary because wood 

fresh from the forest has a water content of 40% to 60% 

on our arrival. The shredder recycles pallets, roof trusses, 

windows, doors and demolition wood. The material is 

mostly collected by the company’s own container trucks, 

but sometimes it is delivered. Shredding is done in two 

passes, the first for coarse shredding and the second for finer 

shredding. Both times, a magnetic belt runs along the outlet 

to separate out metal. The subsequent energy recovery of 

the material takes place in combined heat and power plants 

that are correctly licensed for waste wood. 

“We are paid a small amount for the removal of the waste 

wood as a secondary raw material,” says Philipp Möslinger. 

“However, it involves a lot of work and the margins are 

rather narrow. But recycling is a valuable contribution to 

environmental protection.” 

Philipp Möslinger is constantly coming up with new ideas 

for expanding the range of services offered. The handling 

excavator can be used for tree care in combination with a 

woodcracker pincer. With its reach of 12 metres, it is ideal 

for working on trees located close to roads. A Merlo Roto 

telescopic handler can reach even higher, namely 30 metres. 

It too has a woodcracker unit, but with a chainsaw. “It’s quite 

simply a question of weight,” says Philipp. With the pincer, 

everything has to be much more massive and the hydraulic 

cylinders also add weight. Above 30 metres, you have to be 

careful with every additional kilo.” 

The latest newcomer to the machine park is a mobile 

crushing plant for concrete, tarmac, bricks, natural stone, 

rootstocks and much more besides. Hackgut Möslinger 

is thus once again taking a new direction, opening up 

completely new areas of business. « 

8 9

TITLE STORY 



BRANCHING 

OUT 





wood chips 













out. 









































farm site. 

10 

11

TITLE STORY 

1 

2 3 

1 David Spycher’s farm sits on a 

plateau above the Morges Valley 

– and has a splendid view of Lake 

Geneva. 

2 Five permanent staff make up the 

core team of the contractor David 

Spycher Broyage de bois. His two 

sons, Luca and Mathieu (back row 

on the left and right), help out the 

boss here and there. 

3 David grows around 10ha of maize 

for his own cattle and harvests 

another 200ha of maize each year 

as a contractor. 

up cattle farming entirely: I’ve always really 

enjoyed working with cows and there was 

no alternative use for our grassland anyway. 

So I switched from dairy cattle to suckler 

cows back in 2015.” To make this a reality, he 

built a deep-litter cow house across the road 

with space for 80 suckler cows and calves 

and a barn that year. Together with an old 

deep-litter house at the farm, which has 

space for another 40 cattle, the farm can 

now house a total of 120 animals, including 

calves. 

“Back then, we built up our herd of suckler 

cows by having the majority of our Red Holstein 

dairy cows mate with Limousin bulls 

and continued the process for their female 

offspring. At the outset, we also bought a 

couple of female beef cattle and had them 

mate with Limousin, Angus and Simmental 

breeding bulls through natural breeding 

in an annual rotation. Our herds are now 

genetically almost 100% meat breeds as a 

result,” David adds. He sells male cattle to 

a colleague for finishing once they reach a 

weight of around 250kg. Female cattle that 

do not go into rearing youngstock is finished 

on his farm and then sold to a butcher’s 

shop in the nearby village of Cossonay. Every 

now and then, David also sells meat from 

half or whole carcasses. 

“I am even thinking about whether to start 

selling meat at our own farm shop. For 

this to happen, we will first have to create 

more barn space to increase the number 

of animals. Of course, that will mean 

investing more money alongside what we 

have spent, but it certainly has potential,” 

he adds. After all, as he emphasises, the 

Swiss are “real connoisseurs” who genuinely 

appreciate and are willing to pay a lot 

of money for top-quality meat. The meat 

from cattle kept on his farm has very fine 

fat marbling, remains very tender and juicy 

after preparation and has a unique taste. 

“Many people who drive by our farm on 

their way from Morges to Jura could buy 

their meat here directly on their way to 

work. Our two sons, Luca (18) and Mathieu 

(15), are also showing a lot of interest in 

suckler cow husbandry and might take 

over this side of the business one day. Then 

I could devote more energy to my work as 

a contractor,” David says, unable to hide a 

slight grin. 

All of the feed for the cattle comes from his 

own farm, which has 20ha of grassland and 

32ha of arable land. David grows maize, 

wheat, barley, rapeseed and sunflowers 

there. He uses the silage maize and barley 

that he harvests together with grass silage 

and hay grown on grassland to feed cattle. 

He sells wheat, rapeseed and sunflowers. 

Of course, as a contractor, he runs the full 

fleet of forage harvesting equipment. And 

you'll see that most of his machinery bears 

the Krone brand. Along with a mower 

combination with a conditioner, he also 

owns several tedders, rakes and a forage 

harvester. His latest acquisition is a GX 

440 silage trailer. And he couldn't be more 

thrilled with his buy. “The GX has a huge 

capacity of 44m 3 and is extremely versatile. 

It doesn’t matter if we’re handling grain, 

oilseed crops, silage maize, silage grass or 

wood chips. The GX can transport them all 

without losses. And the floor belt makes 

unloading quick and clean. The tridem-axle 

version that we ordered allows us to get the 

most out of the machine at a permitted 

total weight of up to 30.5t. Its chassis is 

so good that you don’t notice that you are 

pulling a 40t trailer when driving at speed 

or putting on the brakes.” 

THE TIMBER 

PROFESSIONALS 

Known as David Spycher Broyage de bois, 

the contractor’s biggest business is shredding 

and selling wood. Five permanent 

employees and, if needed, more seasonal 

staff work here. David's interest in the 

timber business comes as no surprise. “As 

a child, I was always going into the forest 

with my father to fetch firewood. The first 

crane-fed chipper arrived on the farmyard 

later once we added a wood-chip burner,” 

David recalls. The farm has three chippers 

at the moment: two Wüst chippers made 

in Switzerland and one Jenz unit from 

Germany. It also has a Willibald shredder 

made in Germany that shreds and then 

composts green waste collected at various 

points within 50km of Geneva. 

The contractor mainly shreds wood from 

the region between Lausanne and Geneva. 

Most of it comes from surrounding forests, 

with work typically commissioned by the 

foresters in charge. David also receives 

material from a colleague who fells trees 

at building sites in the city or industrial 

parks, for example. “Each year, we make 

around 120,000m 3 of wood chips through 

our contractor. About 40,000m 3 of this 

amount is processed through Foretnergie 

GmbH, a company that I own together 

with three other partners,” David goes on 

to say. His main role in the company is to 

turn wood into wood chips. One cousin is 

a logistics specialist who is responsible for 

transporting the timber by truck. Another 

colleague is the merchant who buys the 

wood. A fourth member of the team is the 

managing director who handles all office 

duties and customer acquisition work. 

“With this configuration of four specialists, 

we have a professional setup that allows us 

to supply wood chips to a variety of public 

institutions and major district heating 

grids,” the farmer and contractor stresses. 

Trucks are the primary method used to 

transport timber across long distances. But 

the firm often turns to David's logistical capabilities 

when dealing with short distances 

and hard-to-access areas. “Since we added 

the large-capacity GX trailer, we've been 

using it every week for all kinds of journeys. 

It’s safe and convenient to run behind the 

tractor off- and on-road. With sides that can 

be lowered hydraulically, it’s easy to fill, as 

well. Unloading via the floor belt is quick 

and clean. The crop covers stop material 

from being lost en route, even if the wind 

is blowing hard,” David notes. 

A PERFECT 

ADDITION 

David is convinced that he made the right 

choice for himself and his family by having 

two pillars – farming and wood chipping. 

After all, he sees no way to increase his agricultural 

production since prices for buying 

and leasing land are high. At the same time, 

producing and selling high-quality beef 

certainly has good prospects. 

The same can be said for his services and a 

wood processing contractor. “A number of 

construction sites were closed for several 

months here too due to the pandemic. Also, 

some timber harvesting activities have been 

banned since the 10th of April for environmental 

protection reasons. So, having two 

pillars helps to balance out the risk to some 

degree,” he sums up. Notwithstanding 

this, loyalty and reliability are extremely 

important to him. And fortunately, that is 

exactly what he gets from his family and 

from key business partners. Along with 

Foretnergie GmbH, they include the agricultural 

machinery importer GVS Agrar and 

its dealer Küfferagri in Yens – with whom he 

has a very friendly relationship. « 

12 

13

TITLE THEME STORY 


BARKING UP 

2 




traceable. 







1 

B XtraBlatt? Well, its proprietor Fritz Egger is a farmer, 

ut why are we profiling Egger of all companies in 















































14 

15

TITLE STORY 

1 

2 

1 Raw materials used in manufacturing are strictly 

monitored. 

2 Brilon is a fully integrated mill, unlocking countless 

synergies. 

Approximately 1,200 establishments supply Egger with 

sawmilling by-products, which are also generated at its own 

woodworking plants. About 1,000 recyclers deliver waste 

wood to its mills. Egger reports a constant increase in its 

total procurement volumes, which now stands at over 6.9 

million bone-dry tonnes (BDT). 

CLOSE TO HOME 

Egger is working hard to source the majority of its timber 

from the areas around its mills. And it is continually investing 

in modern information and communication systems 

to optimise the flow of information surrounding timber 

procurement. One case in point is the CoSeDat website 

which provides information to partners along the supply 

chain in a direct and transparent manner. It helps invoice 

documents and electronic measurement data used as the 

basis for payments to reach sellers quickly and easily. 

Trucks make transporting goods extremely flexible. In 

its own words, Egger works together with reliable and 

longstanding logistics partners – whether driving on forest 

roads or at sawmills, recycling yards or other premises. Its 

log and bulk material hauliers can draw on a large pool of 

short-timber trucks, walking-floor trailers, semi-trailers 

and roll-off container trailers. Rail is the preferred method 

of transport for longer journeys. The Wismar mill is an 

exception. It is in the immediate vicinity of a seaport used 

to transport timber from nearby woodlands in the Baltic 

Sea and the North Sea region. 

TAKING GOOD CARE 

But just how sustainable is timber production? Suppliers 

from Eastern Europe are indeed sometimes a target of 

criticism. That’s why Egger follows wood procurement 

guidelines. The company has a zero-tolerance policy for 

illegal timber harvesting. After all, sustainable forestry is 

in its best interests, the company believes. So, its strategic 

objective is to take proactive steps to limit the risk of buying 

timber from illegal logging with the help of a certified 

due diligence system. It works by making sure that 100% 

of timber comes from verified sources. This due diligence 

system (DDS) was developed with internal and external 

experts. It is based on ISO standard 38200, which sets out 

requirements for a chain of custody for wood and woodbased 

products. A recognised monitoring organisation 

provides another layer of monitoring. New timber suppliers 

have to provide a huge amount of information. And Egger 

turns away shipments of wood without proof of legality. 

Suppliers deceiving or providing false information to Egger 

about the legality or origin of timber are disqualified and 

reported to the competent authorities in the case of wilful 

intent. 

MORE THAN LOGS 

So far, we’ve written a lot about logs as a raw material. But, 

63% of the wood that Egger uses comes from by-products 

or recycling. Industrial woodworking operations are one of 

the sources of by-products, such as wood chips, sawdust, 

wood shavings, splinters and offcuts. The company also 

uses leftovers from the furniture industry (pre-consumer 

recycled material), such as production residues generated 

by its customers, furniture parts or third-choice particleboard. 

It also utilises recycled wood (post-consumer 

recycled material), which is discarded by end customers, 

such as pallets and transport crates made out of solid 

wood, untreated wood from building sites, furniture, 

interior doors and floorboards. 

Egger processes waste wood, removes contaminants and 

uses it to make particleboard. This waste wood is procured 

from approved specialist providers in an entire process 

that meets strict parameters. Products containing waste 

wood not only have their heavy metal, fluorine, PCP, PCB 

and chlorine content checked upon arrival at the mill; the 

same is true for finished commercial products, as well. All 

ten locations using post-consumer recycled wood have 

these checks performed by an independent laboratory. 

Post-consumer recycled wood currently accounts for 18% 

of the timber that Egger uses. Egger aims to raise this rate 

to 25% in the next few years. 

FARMING AND FORESTRY FOSTER THE ECONOMY 

Forests are more than just local recreational areas and powerhouses 

in efforts to mitigate climate change; they are also a key 

sector of the economy – and that includes for farmers. Including 

all downstream areas, the forestry and timber cluster employs 

around 1.1 million people in Germany. With almost 130,000 

companies and creating value of €181bn each year, this industry 

is on a solid growth trajectory. Demand for timber, especially 

softwood, is rising around the globe. And the forestry and timber 

cluster is considered even more important to the economy 

in rural areas. The forestry sector, forestry service providers 

and downstream processing and treatment industries all have 

significant economic power by virtue of their demand for goods 

and services from other sectors, especially in rural, economically 

underdeveloped regions. Surveys have found that around 25% of 

all jobs in the Upper Black Forest and Hochsauerland region are 

reliant on wood-based value chains – and will remain that way. 

Germany is home to around 11.4 million ha of forest. Around 

48% of this is privately owned, mostly by farmers. The federal 

states hold 29% of the country's forests, with 19% in the hands 

of local authorities and 4% belonging to the federal government. 

Woodworking sites, such as Brilon, also generate by-products 

and wood residues that Egger turns into wood-based panels. 

If recycling is no longer feasible for quality reasons, these 

materials are used in energy recovery processes to generate 

heat and steam. Egger also operates its own waste wood 

recyclers and takes back board offcuts from its customers 

as part of its backward integration efforts. « 

Forest owners generate the majority of their income by selling 

wood. On average, a private forest owner possesses an area of 

around 2.7ha. 

(Sources: AGDW – Die Waldeigentümer, Deutscher Forstwirtschaftsrat e. V. 

– DFWR) 

16 

17

FEATURE 

HÜSECKEN FARM, TIEFENDORF 

THE FEED 

OPTIMISERS 

Times are hard for milk producers. Things are no different 

on the Hüsecken farm to the south of the Ruhr Valley in 

Germany, where the Hüsecken family keep a worried eye 

on the milk price. However, rather than complaining about 

the situation, the entire family are making adjustments 

where they can, and doing so with great success 

The Hüsecken GbR business 

currently manages around 220 dairy 

cows and the followers. 

It is a sunny morning. The cattle are feeding in the shed. 

Others are lying in their cubicles sleeping. Marc Cassel 

is sitting at his computer checking the data recorded by the 

diet feeder in the past few days. “It’s really important for us 

that the proportion of the components in our basic ration 

are exactly in line with the guidelines and that we stick 

precisely to the mixing times," explains Marc, the future 

son-in-law of co-owner Dirk Hüsecken. Marc is in charge of 

feeding on this mixed farm. 

The family farms around 140ha of grassland as well as 

another 125ha of arable land. There are 220 dairy cows in 

the shed. Along with the calves, almost 500 animals have to 

be fed. “This means we have quite substantial feed requirements," 

Marc says. A trained farmer, he understands the 

importance of feed for milk yields and he does everything 

possible to find the best compromise between milk yield 

and feed costs. 

The successful dairy farm has a long history. The farm got 

a proper boost in terms of development when the brothers 

Dirk and Ulrich Hüsecken got on board. “Back then we had 

twelve cows living in a shed, as well as a few hectares of 

grassland and tillage," Dirk reports. Dirk and his brother 

pursued a consistent growth strategy which focussed in 

particular on purchasing land. The business, which was 

changed to a private company in 2002, now farms 265ha 

and a 220-head dairy herd. 

However, the land bought down through the years is scattered 

over quite a large area, which does not make their job 

any easier. “Our average field size is 2–2.5ha. In addition, 

most of the land is on the slopes on the southern edge of 

the Ruhr Valley.” To nevertheless keep the feed costs under 

control, they have meticulously adjusted their processes to 

these structures over the years, in particular the sequence 

in which the fields are harvested. A contracting business 

18 

19

FEATURE 

1 The basic ration is instrumental for milk yields of 

an average 12,000l per cow and year. 

2 Dirk and Ulrich Hüsecken currently run the 

business. The next generation – Jana Hüsecken 

and Marc Cassel – are ready to take over the farm. 

3 Since taking over the business, Dirk Hüsecken 

(photo) and his brother Ulrich have pursued a 

consistent strategy of growth. 

4 In charge of forage production, Marc Cassel pulls 

out all the stops for top-notch quality. 

5 The right cutting time is important for feed 

quality. 

1 

2 

that the Hüsecken family have been working with for many 

years help them with the harvest. 

THE RIGHT TIMING 

Marc, his staff and the contractor pull out all the stops to 

get the feed quality to the high level that Marc desires. “This 

starts with the right cutting time," Marc explains. Everything 

has to fall into place to get that right. “The grass should 

not have gone to seed yet but should still be tall enough 

to yield a decent mass in the silage pit.” Marc also has very 

specific expectations as to the length of the grass when cut. 

“I think a cutting height of 6-8cm is optimal. Firstly, because 

this means we will have very little crude ash in the feed, 

and secondly, because this cutting height is favourable for 

subsequent growth," he explains. He says that mid-summer 

temperatures can easily burn grass that has been cut too 

short, thus impeding subsequent growth. 

His staff always keep a close eye on the rake settings to 

keep the feed as clean as possible. Marc says that “here it is 

important not to set the tines too low so that dirt isn’t picked 

up with the grass in the first place.” The settings don’t just 

have to be adjusted for each new field but also for difficult 

terrain, for example on hillsides, and the settings even have 

to be re-adjusted while working. 

This precision approach is also seen in the collection of 

the forage. “Wilted swaths are usually gathered by forage 

harvesters and chopped to about 4-6cm lengths. This length 

is very important for good feed intake and thus milk production," 

Marc says. 

3 4 

12,000 LITRES ON AVERAGE 

When it comes to the feed components Marc buys in, 

he relies on tried and trusted business tactics: “We ring 

our suppliers weekly and ask about the prices.” In this 

way, he has developed a sixth sense for deciding when is 

the right time to buy and has been able to cut feed costs 

significantly. 

The silage is the main component in the ration which the 

cows are fed twice a day. Maize silage, some lucerne and 

rapeseed meal as well as a proprietary mixture of grains 

are added to the mix. The grain mix is prepared fortnightly 

on-site by a service provider using a mobile mill. “This 

ensures that only freshly ground grain goes into the feed 

mix," Marc states. In Marc’s experience, this, too, has a 

positive effect on the herd’s high performance; and the 

numbers definitely make this clear: The annual average 

is 12,000kg per cow. The top performers in the herd even 

produce more than 60kg daily. These numbers show that 

the high demands Marc places on the feed pay off indeed. 

The cows are milked twice a day in a conventional milking 

parlour that accommodates ten animals. 

For Marc, consistency is the name of the game when it 

comes to feeding times. In his experience, cows love fixed 

schedules and these are kept to precisely on the Hüsecken 

farm. What’s more, the feed isn’t just put out at specific 

times; any leftovers are cleared away after a set period 

of time and passed on to the calves. Marc has found that 

providing fresh feed at the times the cows are used is 

instrumental for high milk yields. 

5 

PROMOTING WELL-BEING 

There are, of course, other factors that influence milk yields 

besides the right feed. “The animals’ well-being is also very 

important to us," says Jana Hüsecken, who will take over 

the farm in a few years along with her fiancé Marc. She and 

her uncle Ulrich do the milking and look after the animals’ 

health, a task that is challenging and full of responsibility. 

Jana knows each individual cow in this large herd. She 

has a good sense of the animals’ health and well-being, 

something that is important for remedying health problems 

in good time. 

Conditions in the shed itself also contribute to the animals’ 

well-being. These include enough space, but above all else 

plenty of fresh air, preferably in the form of a tangible 

breeze, Marc has noticed. The animals seek out spots along 

the side of the shed where the cubicles are. This part of the 

shed is open and there is a noticeable breeze there. Should 

they extend the shed once again, they will certainly include 

that in the planning. 

Although there are currently no specific plans to expand, 

Jana and Marc are confidently looking to the future despite 

the current difficulties for milk producers. They say that 

the farm is well positioned and they have successfully 

been working on quality and costs. All in all, these are best 

pre requisites to lead the business into the future successfully. 

Dirk Hüsecken is by all means certain that the couple 

represent the next very successful generation ready to take 

over the farm. « 

20 

21

INTERVIEW 

KRONE GROUP 



Agricultre is in undergoing profound 

change, dealing with commodity markets 

in turmoil, politicians failing to do their 

jobs and digilisation moving in fast. How is 

KRONE coping with all this? XtraBlatt spoke 

with Bernard Krone, Chairman of the Supervisory 

Board of Krone Holding, about 

current challenges and the group’s investment 

strategy for the future 

XtraBlatt: With the new GX general-purpose 

wagon, Krone has taken a decisive step in 

the direction of haulage equipment. What is 

behind this expansion of the product range? 

Does it mean a greater diversification and a 

move away from being a specialist in green 

forage? 

result of many synergies in the group; it 

fills a logical gap in the product range and 

constitutes an exciting new product for the 

transportation of agricultural materials. This 

is an area in which we are extremely well 

versed and a sector in which we can now 

reach out to even more new customers. 

Bernard Krone: We see ourselves as the 

market leader in the forage harvesting 

sector, but it’s not only recently that we have 

started to branch out into related areas and 

product categories. And precisely because of 

our many years of experience in the manufacture 

of forage wagons and silage trailers, 

it made sense to harness this expertise and 

create new transport solutions. Especially 

as our Commercial Vehicles division and 

subsidiaries such as Knapen have enormous 

knowledge and skills, for example in the area 

of walking floors. The GX is the impressive 

XtraBlatt: Recently, you officially opened 

the Krone “Future Lab” validation centre. 

What is the significance of this new facility 

for your company? 

Krone: Future Lab is more or less the next 

booster stage of our quality offensive which 

we embarked on more than ten years ago. 

In quality management and improvement, 

you can never claim to have actually reached 

any sort of goal, because it is a never-ending 

process. After all, our most important asset 

is customer satisfaction, and the quality and 

22 

23

INTERVIEW 

durability of our machines are key aspects of 

this. They have to be constantly improved. 

But the importance of the validation centre 

goes even further, because it also enables us 

to develop new products at a faster pace and 

with greater efficiency. 

XtraBlatt: Future Lab is apparently not the 

only current investment project at Krone. 

So, what else is in the pipeline? 

Krone: Although the core concept of the 

Future Lab has now been successfully implemented, 

we will continue to expand the 

site over the next few years, for example 

with additional research labs and more office 

space for the technicians. During 2021, we 

also opened a new digital centre in Spelle, 

where we are bringing together all of our 

specialists and resources in this field. 

In terms of volume, however, the planned 

new building for our spare parts centre is the 

most important project at the moment. It is 

to be built at the Spelle site and, according 

to current estimates, it will require an investment 

of 35 million + x euros, where x stands 

for the unknown factor of price increases 

in the construction sector and in materials. 

XtraBlatt: What is the timeline? 

Krone: As we already own the eight-hectare 

site, the approval procedures have been 

completed, as has most of the tendering, 

so we would like to start on construction 

at the beginning of 2022 and have the new 

warehouse operational by the end of 2023. 

XtraBlatt: The previous parts warehouse 

was opened in 2006, but you’re saying that 

it’s already too small? 

Krone: In these past 15 years, our company 

has expanded prodigiously, not only in the 

manufacture and sale of new machines, but 

also in the service sector. Parts sales have 

increased almost fivefold during this period, 

so that we now have a clear problem in terms 

of space. With the emphasis on customer 

Bernard Krone: 

“Something simply 

has to be done in 

Germany and Europe 

to protect farmers 

from cheap food 

which is produced 

under dubious 

standards.” 

satisfaction, as I mentioned earlier in this 

interview, we want to and indeed must ensure 

that space and logistics capacity as well 

as delivery reliability meet our customers’ 

expectations today and – even more importantly 

– in the future. The excellent image 

of the Krone brand is based in particular on 

our service performance – and we intend 

that this should continue to be the case also 

in the future and, if possible, become even 

better. Therefore state-of-the-art and highly 

automated warehousing technology is going 

to be a major feature there. 

XtraBlatt: What is the current state of play 

regarding component and parts availability 

in your factories? 

Krone: The pandemic has severely exacerbated 

such problems – but they also existed 

before. We often found that components we 

ordered had been “discontinued”, and so we 

had to look for alternatives. For this reason, 

it has long been part of Krone’s strategy to 

have main suppliers for specific machine segments 

but to maintain equally good business 

relations with other partners. This has helped 

us during this difficult period. Nevertheless, a 

rethink is certainly necessary – and not only 

at Krone. The globalisation of supply chains 

is something we neither intend nor wish 

to reverse, but it is apparent to us that we 

have to support smaller suppliers more than 

we used to, and that it will be necessary to 

have increased production capacity for key 

technologies such as electronic components 

in Europe once again. 

XtraBlatt: What does this mean for Krone? 

Krone: Overall, I see our purchasing strategy 

as being on the right track, even though 

in 2021 we did struggle with major delays 

in production and bottlenecks caused by 

shortage of parts. The ripple effect in the 

logistics chain will only slowly correct itself 

and will certainly continue to cause problems 

for us in the first half of 2022. The lesson to 

be learned from this is that we need to look 

even more closely at who we buy from. And 

also to be more active in fostering strategic 

alliances. 

XtraBlatt: Is the current situation in component 

supplies leading to lost sales? 

Krone: That is undeniably the case, if only 

because we have not been able to fulfil 

deliveries to the planned extent. But I am 

confident that we will be broadly able to 

make up for this by the start of the 2022 season, 

and certainly by the end of the financial 

year on 31 July. Whether we will be 100% 

successful depends on price movements and 

delivery situations in the first half of the year. 

XtraBlatt: On the upside, though, price 

increases also bring an increase in revenue 

without having to raise the number of units 

sold… 

Krone: Yes, but that is not the crucial point. 

Firstly, we have hedged against increases in 

material costs to a certain extent in advance. 

And anyway, the price lists are already out 

and with our dealers and customers and we 

cannot override them at short notice, nor 

do we intend to. But there is a second even 

more important point: price increases can 

significantly put the brakes on a market, 

especially if the prices for new machines 

and those for agricultural produce drift 

too far apart. In addition, prices for farm 

inputs and consumables, such as fertiliser 

The new €35 million parts and logistics centre is 

currently Krone’s largest investment project and is 

scheduled to go into operation in 2023. 

and energy, rose significantly in the summer 

and autumn of 2021. We all have to 

ensure now that we manage this problem 

as sensible partners – manufacturers, dealers 

and customers. 

XtraBlatt: How then do you explain the 

discrepancy between the very significant 

growth rates of the manufacturers, which 

have continued for years, and the general 

mood of despondency among the farmers, 

especially in Germany? 

Krone: Germany as our home market is 

still number one in the sales statistics. But 

we operate worldwide, and agricultural 

productivity elsewhere is not always at the 

same level as here. Manufacturers benefit 

from having these markets, so growth comes 

to a large extent from exports into these 

markets. And it should not be forgotten that 

elsewhere agriculture very often enjoys a 

much better reputation and recognition than 

in Germany. 

XtraBlatt: Are you saying that you don’t 

see that here? 

Krone: In my view, we have witnessed a 

disconnect between the perceived and the 

actual state of the agriculture sector. We 

see a lot of negative reporting in the media 

and hear criticisms from left-wing and Green 

politicians of conventional farming, which 

leads to the sector having a poor public image. 

All of this lacks objectivity and is unfair, 

because it has no basis in reality. However, I 

am convinced that the image of agriculture 

in broad swaths of the population is still 

considerably better than the image that it 

is portrayed in the media. 

But to return to your question on the discrepancy 

between a pessimistic mood and a 

seemingly unshakable willingness to invest, 

let me say that quite a few farmers have 

diversified in the past few years. Farming is 

often no longer their only source of income. 

Many generate renewable energy, for example, 

or have opened farm-to-consumer 

shops and services. There is a whole range of 

business models and combinations out there 

that secure a basic income, help weather a 

difficult period or help even to invest proactively 

in the future. 

XtraBlatt: How do you assess the medium 

and long-term prospects of livestock farmers 

specifically in Germany? 

Krone: We will need political support. If, on 

the one hand, the regulations from Brussels 

and Berlin become ever more stringent, 

whereas on the other hand, supermarkets 

are unwilling to pass the higher producer 

costs on to their customers, then there will 

be an enormous pressure on farmers and 

the long-term prospects will not be good. At 

the same time, a lot of cheap food imports 

are flowing into the country, many of which 

have not been produced to the same standards 

that apply here. And that really annoys 

me. If we have rules, they must be the same 

for everyone. 

Bernard Krone: “The ripple effect in 

the logistics chain will only slowly 

correct itself and will certainly carry 

on causing problems for us in the first 

half of 2022.” 

In this regard, there is currently little or no 

protection for German farmers. Politicians 

have always told me that this would not be 

feasible, if only because of the red tape this 

would involve. But this is definitely not true, 

as the latest legislation on ethical supply 

chains has shown. This has made me lose 

all faith in politicians and their willingness 

to deal honestly with farmers. As manufacturers, 

we shall ensure in future that all 

our suppliers and their subcontractors any 

country of this world comply with European 

and German standards. That’s sporty. Why 

doesn’t the EU demand the same for food? 

Why don’t the big food retailers also have 

to comply with these standards? Why are 

they so brazen about selling meat from 

cattle reared on pasture for which whole 

rainforests were cut down in South America? 

Something simply has to be done in Germany 

and Europe to protect farmers from 

cheap food that is produced under dubious 

standards. Anyone who is vociferous about 

high standards for animal welfare and wants 

them to be legally binding must ensure that 

all producers comply. And these standards 

should be controlled properly – self-declaration 

isn’t enough. If we want to sell machines 

to America, we have manufacture them to 

their national guidelines; and we have to 

document every single detail. Why, then, do 

those who want to sell to Europe not have to 

comply with our standards? To put it bluntly, 

the EU has been sleeping on the job in this 

regard. There is a need for action here. And 

if then a potential animal welfare levy is set 

and set high enough AND ultimately benefits 

the farmers, farmers will be willing to invest 

and adapt. « 

24 

25

KNOWLEDGE 


Contractor Jens-Peter Messer (right) 

and his manager Malte Carlsburg use 

a dual NIR sensor on a Holmer slurry 

trac with a Zunhammer tank and on a 

Krone forage harvester. 



Near infrared spectroscopy, 

or “NIR” for short, is an acronym 

for a technology that 

allows users to gain deep 

insights into nutrient levels 

of silage and slurry, for example. 

Jens-Peter Messer 

uses the technology for 

optimising the processes 

on his farm 

“NIR” – HOW IT WORKS 

Near-infrared spectroscopy, NIR spectroscopy or NIRS 

/ NIR for short is a physical analysis technology that 

is based on spectroscopy in the short-wave infrared 

light range (Source: Wikipedia). A light shines on 

the medium to be analysed which in turn reflects 

the light. The sensor measures the reflection and 

compares the result to the data stored. 

Farmer and contractor Jens-Peter Messer goes about 

his work in a region where other people spend their 

holidays. His arable farm is situated 10km from the coast 

line of the Baltic Sea where he farms approx. 750ha of 

land, operates five biogas plants of an installed capacity of 

5.9MW, manages a contracting company that employs 14 

people and rents out five holiday cottages and 11 holiday 

apartments to tourists. “We never get bored around here,” 

tells Jens-Peter and adds: “In addition to this farm here in 

Stolltebüll, we bought another 750ha grassland and arable 

farm in the south of Denmark in 2017.” 

Jens-Peter is quite aware that his machine fleet is a bit 

oversized for the acreage they cover every year. He explains: 

“Two Krone BiG X forage harvesters – an 880 and a 630 – 

take care of harvesting our own approx. 900ha of maize 

and two customer fields. This means, our machines are a bit 

over the top, but with the two farms situated 60km apart, 

26 

27

KNOWLEDGE 

The data are recorded automatically in the 

background while the forager is harvesting. Once 

the field is cleared, Malte Carlsburg allocates the 

data to the specific field using the Next Farming 

software; then he imports them into the field 

plot file. 

we can’t shuttle the machines back and 

forth between farms, also because harvest 

starts late up here. Harvest begins in late 

September/early October, so we need to 

clear the fields within a very short time. 

After all, the winter cereals must go into 

the soil before winter. And then, autumns 

are rather wet over here, which of course 

slows down harvest.” 

TWO BIG X 

Jens started using NIR technology back in 

early 2015 when he bought a new Krone BiG 

X 700 that had the technology. This measures 

dry matter levels but also the nutrient 

levels in the silage. “For us as biogas producers, 

it is important to know these levels that 

tell us how much silage of which quality and 

monetary value we have in the clamp. We 

need to know whether our stocks will last 

for a full year to fuel our digesters. We could 

of course sample the wagon loads manually 

and have the samples analysed at the lab, 

but the results would be too inaccurate for 

our purposes and secondly this is a more 

costly procedure in the long run than using 

the NIR technology. On the other hand, the 

technology helps us estimate which quality 

we are purchasing from farmers,” explains 

the contractor. 

Since early 2021, Jens-Peter has been 

running a Krone BiG X 880 with a NIR Control 

dual Sensor from Krone’s new supplier 

m-u-t. In his view, this offers a huge advantage 

over the previous sensor model: 

“The dual sensor measures the nutrients 

not only in silage maize – starch, crude 

raw ash levels, crude fat, crude protein, 

NDF, ADF and sugar levels – but also the 

nutrients in slurry.” This is possible, because 

the hardware of the sensor is identical with 

the technology slurry equipment maker 

Zunhammer has been using and developing 

for years. Admittedly, the technology is not 

cheap. The good news is that the sensor 

is a one-off €20,000 investment. “Add to 

this €6,500 for attachment parts and the 

Krone licences for the nutrients measuring 

software plus €9,000 for the slurry software 

licences and the service from Zunhammer. 

Another cost factor is the lamp inside the 

sensor unit which is exposed to wear and 

should be replaced every two years, says the 

manufacturer. And finally there are costs for 

regular software updates as suggested by 

Krone and Zunhammer,” summarises the 

contractor. "But unlike the previous sensor, 

the new one offers two applications. From 

February on and all the way up to the first 

cut it measures slurry contents on the SP 

slurry spreader. After that we transfer it to 

the forager. From there we swap back to the 

self-propelled slurry tanker. And as these 

two operations hardly ever overlap, the dual 

use approach works very well for us. And 

that means that our costs per hour or rate, 

which we measure with the sensor, drop 

significantly. Transferring the sensor from 

the forager to the slurry spreader and back 

takes just a few minutes. It simply takes 

undoing or tightening four nuts and the 

unit is plugged into the electronic system 

of the machine. “The ISOBUS detects it 

automatically and automatically loads the 

slurry or maize curves,” adds Jens-Peter. 

During the first year of using the sensor 

on the slurry spreader he discovered that 

nutrient levels varied greatly: “We spread a 

lot of slurry from other farms on our Danish 

fields and in this season we discovered great 

differences in nutrient levels. The sensor 

detects that and takes care that the nutrients 

are distributed uniformly despite the 

heterogeneous quality of the liquid.” The 

operator can also select a specific nutrient 

“UNLIKE OUR 

PREVIOUS SENSOR, 

THIS NEW SENSOR 

SUITS TWO DIFFERENT 

APPLICATIONS.” 

JENS-PETER MESSER, 

CONTRACTOR 

that should be applied with restraint. “We 

set a threshold level for nitrogen, for example. 

Other farmers in regions where high 

phosphor levels are an issue, for example, 

could restrict the P value,” adds Jens-Peter. 

THE RIGHT 

SOLUTION 

Jens-Peter uses the cloud-based Next 

Farming software for visualising and 

processing the machine data. But finding 

the right application that works for them 

was not easy. “We tested three different 

applications in four years. Considering the 

time we invested in this, this has been quite 

frustrating, but the present solution seems 

to be the right thing for us. It’s quite an intuitive 

application and it accepts mixed fleets 

and connects to the agrirouter platform for 

cross-brand machine data communication. 

So we can send the data from the system 

right into our field plot file and evaluate 

them there. Also, we can compare the data 

from several years and relate them to yield 

potential maps and satellite maps. This 

helps us draw the right conclusions for our 

farm management. Conversely, we can send 

application maps out from our field plot file 

Undo / tighten just four nuts and connect the sensor 

unit to the electronic system of the machine. Done. 

The sensor is part of the ISOBUS. The sensor is 

programmed with two applications – one for slurry 

one for foraging. 

When the slurry is sucked in, the 

NIR sensor measures nitrogen (N), 

phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) 

levels in the slurry flow. The operator 

enters the rate as kg/ha. The rest is 

taken care of automatically. 

to the machines using Next Farming. The 

maps are sent wirelessly to the machines,” 

tells colleague Malte Carlsburg who heads 

the arable side of the business. He adds: 

“We aim at using fertilisers, chemicals and 

seeds as efficiently as possible and record 

yields as exactly as possible. Our new NIR 

technology is a great help for that, because 

it allows us to measure the contents of our 

organic fertiliser accurately and spread it at 

consistent rates. It also serves to measure 

the performance of the forager.” They system 

doesn’t require operators to put their 

heads into data logging, a fact Jens-Peter 

finds a real boon: “After all, all operators are 

stressed out at harvest and we don’t want 

to burden them with starting and ending 

jobs or recordings. We have the feature run 

in the background and then I can sit down 

at the computer and assign the individual 

recordings to the fields.” « 

DID YOU KNOW? 

Zunhammer NIR sensors from 2015 

are upward compatible and can be 

upgraded for dual use. Customers 

merely have to send in the sensor 

to the company where it is reprogrammed 

to measure the nutrients 

in maize on a Krone forager in 

addition to nutrients in slurry on a 

slurry spreader. 

28 

29

30 31

KNOWLEDGE 

Veterinarian André Hüting: “Experience 

shows that maize harvests usually begin 

far too late when the DM levels are close to 

38–40%, which is too high.” 

percentage. “The procedure was repeated 

after a number of days – depending on the 

weather. This helped us watch the ripening 

process," he explains. 

In fact, the crop ripened fast in the light 

soils of the Rhine valley, also because of the 

lack of rain and high temperatures. “Most 

farmers were planning to start harvest 

not before the end of September, but that 

would have been too late,” comments 

André. When DM levels in the first stands 

reached the proper percentages, André gave 

the contractors the go-ahead for the 7th of 

September. 

The vets look after the feed quality of 

approximately 200 dairy and beef farmers, 

each of whom grows 40–60 hectares of 

maize, which totals to 10,000 hectares. 

The aim is also to collaborate with the con- 


EARLIER THAN 

EXPECTED 

It is important to start measuring dry matter contents 

(DM) in silage maize well ahead of harvest and then keep 

going up to harvest which is best when DM is 32–34%. 

Also, cuts should be shorter than 9mm and the stubble 

as high as 50cm. This is the recipe for high-quality maize 

silage, says vet André Hüting 

In grain, farmers measure moisture levels 

down to a tenth percent accuracy before 

they move into the field whereas for maize 

they are happy with a rough guess. “Yet, 

experience shows that the maize harvest 

is usually delayed far too long until DM 

contents are developing towards the 38- 

40% threshold. Yet at this DM level, the 

silage is much more difficult to compact. 

Compacting is best at 32–34% DM, André 

is convinced. He and his colleagues run 

a veterinary practice which is linked to 

their consulting firm “KuhBlick”. For many 

years, they have been offering advice and 

assistance in all aspects of dairy and beef 

cattle husbandry and feeding for improving 

animal health and performance. XtraBlatt 

has repeatedly reported about their activities. 

The vets consider feed quality of grass 

and maize silage as an integral part of these 

issues. This year they added another detail 

to their service: the analysis of DM levels in 

maize silage which is carried out before the 

forager actually moves into the field. This 

service allows farmers to assess the ripeness 

of their crop by using scientific figures for an 

optimum timing of the harvest. 

AN EARLY START 

To do that, they cut five plants from each 

maize field of their clients, making sure 

these were cut in different patches. Then 

the plants were shredded with a regular 

garden shredder, tells André. Next, the 

material was mixed and a 500g sample 

was removed from the mix. This was poured 

into a food processor for further shredding. 

After that, the material was analysed in 

their own lab to determine the exact DM 

tractors in the region to get the optimum 

harvest date for each individual stand. 

“The contractors appreciate that very 

much, because this allows them to deliver 

the best-quality feed and at the same time 

reduce the time pressure. When all farmers 

want to harvest at the same time – which is 

typically the case – the haulage chains don’t 

really cope or at least not at the required 

quality. Yet, by analysing the stands by soil, 

variety and maturity at an early stage and 

in all fields, they can schedule accordingly. 

A win win. 

Each sampling costs €15. Although the price 

doesn’t really cover the costs, they consider 

it part of their consultancy service. Another 

motivation is to raise the awareness for 

what is the best time for harvest. “The 

increase in quality is enormous,” is his conclusion 

when he looks at the results. “We 

also checked the quality with the particle 

separator and found it was excellent. 7mm 

chops and cracked kernels really speak for 

themselves. And the operators who do 

the rolling on the clamp have confirmed 

that they were able to get a top-notch 

% 

compression from a 32–33 DM 

crop. This 

in turn helps enormously with fermenta- 

32 

33

KNOWLEDGE 

tion. Consequently, they won’t need any 

additives,” concludes the vet. 

CONVINCING 

RESULTS 

Not only did the farmers they consulted kick 

off with harvest about 10 days earlier than 

usual, they logically also finished earlier in 

early October. Some in the vet team were 

really busy during these weeks, analysing 

samples over samples every day. “We were 

processing so many samples that we even 

had to get new knives for the shredder,” the 

vet chuckles. But he is sure that it was worth 

it. “The actual DM contents in the clamp 

were on average between 33% and 36% – 

just the way we like it,” he says and adds 

that the contractors who did the clamping 

were also enthusiastic. Compacting is so 

essential for top-quality silage and this 

time it was visibly better. “The farmers, too, 

noticed the difference over the previous 

years. Many people said that they were 

really happy to have measured DM levels 

systematically, starting early; and that they 

had not expected that,” comments the vet 

visibly pleased. 

Contractors and farmers listen to the vet 

also in terms of short lengths of cut. They 

usually cut chops shorter than 9mm. Sometimes 

they cut as short as 6mm. This, too, 

helped achieve an excellent compaction 

in the clamp. As a positive side effect, the 

amount of husks on the dry and sometimes 

varying soils was not an issue. The benefit of 

this is seen later in the feed bunk: “Animals 

are more selective when feeding on dryer 

and longer chops,” says André. This means 

that the roughage which is essential for the 

animals’ health is not taken in. “Therefore I 

don’t think too highly of long chops and / or 

late cuts,” is his opinion. 

Contractors and farmers tested another 

aspect of the improvement of silage quality: 

cut longer stubbles. On some plots they 

left 50cm stubbles, whereas the stubbles 

in the control plots were only 30cm tall. 

The first 

machine in the 

maize harvest 

chain is the 

shredder. It 

shreds maize 

samples which 

are then 

analysed for DM 

levels at the lab. 

“Then we tested the quality of the feed we 

got from both these plots. In the feed we 

got from the high stalks, NEL levels stood 

at 7.3 MJ. So that’s a good value. Compare 

this to 6.8–7.0 MJ NEL levels in the feed 

that contained more stalk material. This 

means that the feed value of that part of 

the stalk growing close to the ground is 

less than that of straw. So, it is better to not 

cut that, especially when this silage is fed 

to dairy cows. 

André concludes that it pays to determine 

DM contents routinely in the run-up to 

harvest and set the harvest date not only 

by guessing, and it also pays to cut short 

chops and of course crack the kernels effectively 

rather than merely damaging them. 

“That takes time and fuel and explains why 

contractors charge higher rates for that. But 

the money is invested well, because the 

feed value grows multiple times”. « 

CHRISTMAS TREE CAMPAIGN 

WHAT A NICE CHRISTMAS 

PRESENT! 

This Christmas like every Christmas, Krone employees are 

offered the opportunity to put up a sponsored Christmas 

tree in their homes. Anyone in the Krone Group who would 

like to get such a sponsored Christmas tree is invited to 

sign up for pick-up. The date is yet to be specified but will 

be shortly before we all leave for our Christmas holidays. 

The best part of the campaign is that you will pay only €10 

for your Nordmann breed, the difference being covered by 

the Krone family. 

After paying your share, you are free to load your Christmas 

tree into your car. All trees come netted and measure 

between 1.80m and 2.10m in height. Yet even the tall ones 

should easily go into cars, courtesy of a volunteer hand 

from a number of Krone apprentices. Proud Christmas tree 

owners can then set up the gift in their homes – and even 

decorate it with Krone-branded Christmas baubles. So, 

nothing stands in the way of a wonderful Christmas – at 

least in terms of the tree. What a nice present! « 

CALENDAR 2022 

FROM FANS FOR FANS 

In May, Krone asked agricultural machinery 

fans all around the world to send in photos 

of Krone machines in action for the new 

2022 calendar. We received around 1,000 

photos in response to our request and the 

Krone judges had the unenviable task of 

selecting the twelve best images. “We 

were overwhelmed by the enormous variety 

of fantastic photos sent in from all over 

the world. Selecting just twelve was no 

easy task, but ultimately we had to make 

a decision and we are delighted to unveil 

a wonderful international calendar featuring 

snapshots from ten countries” says 

Krone marketing director Markus Steinwendner. 

The new Krone Calendar 2022 

is now available from the Krone Shop at 

www.kroneshop.de. « 

34 

35

FEATURE 

HÖLLER LIVERY STABLES, LINDLAR 

HAY FOR TRUE 

CONNOISSEURS 

3 

1 Michael Höller has converted his 

130ha dairy farm to a livery farm 

for 120 horses. 

2 The horse hay is still fresh and crisp 

even after months of storage. 

3 A passionate haymaker – Michael 

Höller. 

1 

For farmer Michael Höller, making 

high-quality hay is way more than simple 

forage production – it’s his passion. 

XtraBlatt visited his farm in Lindlar about 

30km east of Cologne in Germany, to find 

out more 

Not all green fodder is the same. While 

dairy cows are expected to produce 

milk, recreational horses have to watch 

their weight, so they need different diets. 

Farmer Michael Höller from Lindlar in the 

uplands to the east of Cologne known as 

the Bergisches Land knows exactly what 

cows need in their feed, and horses too. Ten 

years ago he converted his 130ha dairy farm 

to a livery farm for recreational horses – a 

2 

change which also prompted him to rethink 

his approach and switch from conventional 

to organic farming. 

The decision to give up dairy farming was 

one he had been contemplating for a long 

time. Low milk prices, the pressure to tailor 

his farming practices to prioritise yield and 

performance – Michael Höller had had 

enough of all that. As he has always had 

an affinity with horses, it made sense to 

convert his farm to a livery yard. The Bergisches 

Land is home to several of these 

liveries, since its proximity to the densely 

populated Rhine metropolises of Cologne 

and Düsseldorf and high recreational value 

make it very appealing. Michael Höller soon 

became established in the horse world with 

his particular take on the concept. Livery 

places with him are now highly sought-after 

and the waiting list is long. So what has 

made his livery farm with space for up to 

120 horses so successful? “I didn’t want 

to run a conventional livery yard. Instead, 

I wanted the horses in my care to live in 

as natural a way as possible”, explained 

Michael Höller. 

KEEPING HORSES 

IN PADDOCKS 

On this farm, it's all about the horse husbandry. 

Only a very small number of horses 

on the farm are housed in conventional 

stables. “Most of our horses live in groups of 

up to 16 in open barns”, says Michael Höller, 

as reflected in the farm's name Bergischen 

Laufstallanlage; a nod to the region and the 

livery system he has devised. Each horse has 

at least 100m 2 of space. There is also a field 

shelter and outdoor hay racks. “Horses are 

herd animals, so keeping them in groups is 

the next best thing to their natural environment”, 

he explains. 

But it's not just the husbandry concept 

that makes places at these livery stables 

so sought after. Another reason is the 

high-quality organic fodder that the 

farmer now produces. "The hay we use is 

nutritious and palatable for the horses, 

but doesn't allow them to gain weight", 

he emphasises. It sounds simple enough, 

but in practice it's not that easy to achieve. 

When it comes to hay production, there 

are numerous variables – starting with 

the choice of grasses and the fertilising 

method, then the harvesting process and 

finally the way in which the fodder is 

offered to the horses. 

36 

37

FEATURE 

Michael Höller spent a long time tweaking 

the various components of the green 

fodder production process before arriving 

at his own particular way of producing 

premium quality hay for horses. Unlike 

green fodder production for dairy cows, 

with recreational animals such as horses, 

the aim is not to produce the richest 

fodder possible. Since in most cases the 

horses are not required to do much, they 

risk gaining weight if the feed intake is 

too rich. Nevertheless, Michael Höller is 

a firm believer that horses should have 

access to fodder at all times. This means 

that even horses which are not regularly 

ridden are occupied and good-tempered. 

You can tell when you go into the paddocks. 

The horses living in groups are relaxed and 

approachable. They give visitors a friendly 

greeting and an inquisitive sniff; some, it 

seems, even want to whisper in your ear. 

2 

1 

"The horses clearly feel at ease and they 

know there’s no point in quarrelling over 

food because the racks are always piled high 

with fresh hay", explains Michael Höller. 

Feed intake is controlled using nets laid 

over the hay racks. The smaller the mesh 

width, the longer the horses have to "work" 

for their feed. 

HERB-RICH GRASS 

MIXES 

Highly species-rich grass mixes are the 

basis for his high-quality horse hay. These 

grasses have a significantly lower fructan 

content than standard grass mixes con- 

taining perennial rye grass, which tend to 

be used as green folder for dairy and beef 

cattle – in this case a high sugar content is 

desirable to accelerate the ensiling process. 

Weed pressure is surprisingly low, but then, 

Michael Höller has a very effective weed 

control strategy; the dreaded dock is kept 

in check by systematic removal. “If I see a 

dock plant in one of the fields when I'm out 

on the tractor, I step down and pull it up”. 

With his primary focus now to encourage 

soil life, Michael Höller has abandoned the 

use of mineral fertilisers in favour of his own 

method . He has developed a farm-produced 

compost which he regularly spreads on the 

fields. "Obviously we have plenty of horse 

manure, which is mixed with the sawdust 

we use as bedding", explains Michael 

Höller. This mixture is regularly brought 

1 Ideal for horse hay: Michael Höller 

uses Krone equipment. 

2 He fertilises his grassland with 

nothing other than compost 

produced in his own cowshed. 

3 Occupied, without eating too 

much: Nets are used to control feed 

intake. 

4 Colleague Tobias Schäfer is in 

charge of baling, among other 

things. 

into a purpose-built shed on the organic 

farm where a small herd of cattle is housed. 

Here cow manure and urine are added to 

the mix to produce a favourable C/N ratio 

and speed up the composting process. 

Michael has invested in a spading machine 

which is used every day to mix the compost 

in the shed. Aerating the mix in this way 

gets oxygen into the compost to accelerate 

decomposition and further optimise the 

process. He produces 8-10t of compost per 

year and hectare which is spread on the 

fields with a compost spreader. 

3 

FIRST CUT IS KEY 

Unlike green fodder production for cows, 

Michael uses only the first cut of the year to 

produce hay for his horses. A second cut is 

taken from some fields, but this is reserved 

for his cattle. The hay meadows are not 

mown until the grasses are in flower. "This 

is when the constituents of the forage are 

ideal for producing horse hay" explains 

Michael. 

However, putting all your efforts into 

the first cut is inherently risky. Moisture 

in particular can cause major problems. 

So five years ago Michael Höller invested 

in a hay drier for round bales. This means 

that when harvesting conditions are poor, 

he is able to achieve the desired moisture 

content by drying his hay bales in the safety 

of the barn. However, he only uses the drier 

if the weather makes it unavoidable. “This is 

partly because the use of an external heat 

source to dry the bales is not consistent 

with our approach to sustainability, and 

partly because it is a major cost driver", 

explains Michael. 

He much prefers to dry his hay by natural 

means. After mowing, for which Michael 

uses a mower with conditioner to help dry 

crop, the grass is left on the field for three to 

four days and gently turned with a tedder at 

regular intervals. At night the hay is formed 

into an overnight swath to achieve the 

desired moisture content. 

POWERFUL 

AND EFFICIENT 

EQUIPMENT 

The farm uses Krone equipment for mowing, 

tedding, raking and finally forming the 

hay into swaths. They have recently invested 

in a Comprima round baler, which produces 

around 1,800 bales per year – a worthwhile 

investment in Michael's view: “The Comprima 

with its variable bale chamber is ideal 

for us because the bales it produces can be 

dried with optimum efficiency." 

The time-sensitive nature of hay making 

means that high-performance machines are 

required for other stages of the harvest too, 

4 

such as the trailed rotary tedder in the KWT 

series, which has a working with of 16m. 

The effort and attention which Michael 

invests in the haymaking process is certainly 

worthwhile. A round bale opened 

after several months still retains the sweet 

smell of freshly mown hay. Despite the long 

storage, the grasses have lost none of their 

crispness. No wonder that the horses on 

this farm enjoy the hay so much. Michael 

Holler's eyes light up as he grabs a handful 

of hay and holds it to his nose. He sniffs 

and senses that once again that he has 

produced a hay that meets his very high 

standards for this green fodder that is so 

important for horses. « 

38 

39

TELEGRAM 

NEWS TICKER 

SIX IN A ROW 

AGRILIGHT JOINT PROJECT 

The Feihe Group in the Chinese Heilongji- 

How can we sustainably redevelop the heavy frames of large agricultural machines and 

ang Province has taken delivery of six BiG 

significantly reduce their weight at the same time? This is the question that the “Agrilight” 

X 780 in one go. The customer is one of the 

largest dairy farming, raw milk production 

and processing operations in China. 

joint project aims to address with the help of project partners KRONE, M+D Composites 

Technology GmbH, the Leibniz University Hannover and the Technical University of 

Clausthal. 

BEST PLACE TO 

LEARN 

Krone has once again been awarded “Best 

DONATIONS FOR 

FLOOD VICTIMS 

Place To Learn” certification for its apprenticeship 

programme. The recertification 

process involved surveying around 200 

Krone donated €100,000 to various 

apprentices as well as their instructors 

DOUBLE 

RETIREMENT 

Axel Quade and Volker Preuß both worked 

as Krone sales engineers for 30 years, 

and have now officially stepped down to 

enjoy their well-earned retirement. The 

Krone family, Martin Eying and Hermann 

Brüggemann thanked them for their years 

of sterling service to the company. 

NEW CALENDAR 

The KRONE Calendar 2022 is now available. 

Some 1,000 photos were sent in by around 

200 amateur photographers from all over 

the world. The judges had the unenviable 

task of selecting the twelve best images, 

and the results are truly impressive. 

charities in the immediate aftermath of 

the flooding in the Ahr Valley. Since then, 

the staff and management board have 

donated a further €60,000 to support 

those affected by the devastating floods. 

KRONE IS 

“FUTURE-PROOF” 

The KRONE Agricultural Machinery division 

has been awarded “future-proof” certification 

in the “Shaping digitalisation through 

social partnerships” category for the 

about the strengths and weaknesses of the 

programme. The training management and 

the technical and interpersonal skills of the 

instructors were particularly highly rated. 

second time. Minister of Economic Affairs 

AU REVOIR JOËL! 

Managing director of Krone France Joël 

START OF 2021 

TRAINING YEAR 

In August, 45 new apprentices and 

dual students (who follow a combined 

vocational and degree programme) 

started their training in the KRONE 

Agricultural Machinery division, along 

with a one-year intern and a student on 

an engineering placement. 

RE-OPENING 

After several months of refurbishment, the 

Hotel Krone restaurant has re-opened under 

a new name – “Schmiede 1906” (Smithy 

1906 in English). The new tenant Steve 

Bormann runs the Hotel Krone as well as 

the restaurant-side of the operations. 

for Lower Saxony Dr Bernd Althusmann 

presented the certificate. 

WILDFLOWER 

MEADOW 

Krone has created a native wildflower 

meadow on a 5ha site at the Future Lab 

in Lingen. The meadow will contribute 

to conserving biodiversity by providing a 

vital habitat and food source for a wide 

range of native insects. 

HALF A CENTURY 

Foucher recently celebrated his retirement. 

Joël set up the new subsidiary in Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines 

some 50km south-west 

of Paris in 2015 and has steered it on a 

successful course ever since. 

Ludger Gude has just celebrated a very special anniversary 

– 50 years at Krone. He has enjoyed a stellar career, starting 

out as an industrial clerk and ending up as managing director. 

First to congratulate him were Dorothee Renzelmann, Dr 

Bernard Krone, Bernard Krone and the Spelle KRONE Trade 

& Services team. 

40 

41

PARTNERSHIPS 

Dr Marcus Bertelsmeier (l) 

and Dr Steffen Wöbcke 

consider customer service 

a critical factor for business 

success. 

The company is running six operations, with number seven due to open in 2023. 

AGRARTECHNIK SACHSEN 

READY TO 

TAKE ON THE 

FUTURE 

Being a benchmark service provider is 

more than a claim for the German contracting 

firm Agrartechnik Sachsen. On the 

contrary, an impressive collection of service 

awards bears evidence that the company is 

very serious about it. A particular aspect of 

their philosophy is qualification, a field in 

which they set new standards indeed 

Agricultural machines such as combines, 

foragers and beet harvesters as well as 

self-propelled sprayers and slurry spreaders 

list among the most demanding machines 

that require a top-notch service from a 

professional agricultural workshop – not 

only when downed in the field but also 

with regard to predictive maintenance. A 

dealership that is in charge of servicing as 

many as about 350 self-propelled machines 

is expected to have a refined service scheme 

in place and plenty of skills and expertise. 

“Deliver the best possible service was my 

father’s overriding tune when he opened 

the business in 1990,” tells Marcus Bertelsmeier 

who runs the firm together 

with his brother Ralph. “Being successful 

at selling machines is one thing though; 

turning buyers into regular customers who 

buy again and again is quite another and 

takes high-end workshops, expert service 

people, very good customer advice and a 

good service programme. Therefore, we’ve 

always aimed at being the benchmark in 

terms of service in this region.” 

CUSTOMER PROXI- 

MITY IS THE KEY 

What started out as a small company with 

ten employees in a small town north of 

Dresden in the year of German reunification 

has by now grown into a company with 

six offices and workshops and around 150 

employees, with almost 80 of these working 

in the workshops and parts departments. 

The sales and service area extends from the 

south of Brandenburg to the south of Saxony 

and to the west nearly as far as Leipzig, 

with sales areas varying by brand. The most 

prominent brands are New Holland, Krone, 

Horsch, Holmer, Grimme, JCB, Strautmann 

and GEA. 

A 7th dealership is coming into operation in 

2023. This, too, is part of the service policy, 

explains Dr Steffen Wöbcke who is head 

of Customer Service: “Customer proximity 

- both literally and figuratively - is very 

important to us. Of course, a dealership is 

always a huge cost factor, but even the best 

mobile service team and the best remote 

diagnose systems are no substitute for a 

proper network of workshops, because 

many customers are not willing to embark 

on a 30-40km road trip to get to the nearest 

workshop – not even in our region with our 

vast fields.” 

The service fleet consists of about 60 

vehicles which carry everything it takes to 

service a high-end machine. Apart from 

that, the service engineers can diagnose 

many malfunctions by using telemetrics. 

“Telemetrics save us and our customers 

a lot of time – provided the technology 

is available in every corner in our region, 

which is not really the case; but we are 

getting there,” adds Steffen. 

FULL RANGE OF 

SERVICE PACKAGES 

In order to cut out downtime altogether, 

predictive maintenance is one of the top 

offers in the service package. And the 

“winter inspection” is great for that. This 

means that the mechatronics inspect the 

machine for any maintenance repairs. At 

the end of the inspection they may suggest 

a possible repair and prepare a quote for 

42 

43

PARTNERSHIPS 

it. “Some customers operate their own 

workshops and so prefer carrying out the 

service themselves,” says Marcus. “They 

may get support from us in that we send 

out one of our mechatronics to work at their 

place.” Many and an increasing number of 

customers use the opportunity to have the 

operational reliability of their machines 

fully restored during the winter check. 

“This is a great help for our customers, because 

skilled labour is also in short supply 

in farming,” continues Marcus. “We have 

a comprehensive service package in place 

that offers maximum efficiency, skills and 

expertise. That’s really convincing.” Another 

advantage is that one of our dealerships has 

a 5,000m² machine hall. During the winter, 

our customers can store those SP machines 

here that go through the winter check at 

that dealership. “That means, we have the 

machines lined up and can work on them as 

it suits our schedules and our customers have 

a dry place to store their valuable equipment 

over the winter,” explains Marcus. 

Customers also appreciate the large choice 

of service packages and service agreements 

that are both cost-effective and tailored to 

individual needs. The services range from 

the mentioned winter check to all-inclusive 

packages that cover literally every expenditure. 

By paying a lump sum per machine 

hour, machine owners are freed of all costs 

except fuel. “Yet at the end of day, all this 

back-up and support, staff qualification and 

manpower must pay for us as well,” says the 

head of Customer Service, Steffen Wöbbcke. 

All these services and investments involve 

considerable costs for the company, more 

than some customers may think. For example, 

all mechatronics attend at least three 

trainings per year. That translates into up 

to two weeks of absence from the job plus 

the expenses. “Extrapolated to annual costs, 

we are looking at considerable investments 

for lost labour, seminar fees and travel expenses 

which amount to a high five-figure 

sum. Yet we attach great importance to 

qualification and further training really 

increases motivation; but it is certainly no 

small feat," explains Steffen. 

PLENTY OF 

KNOWLEDGE AND 

EXPERTISE 

Qualification also comprises the company’s 

apprenticeship scheme. Currently, nearly 

two dozens of apprentices are being trained 

as farm / construction machine mechatronics. 

Furthermore, qualification also extends 

to the customers, especially their drivers. 

Driver trainings are much appreciated – 

both for new machines but also as brush-up 

trainings in the run-up to the combining 

or foraging season. “Although the drivers 

usually have top qualifications and loads of 

experience, they really benefit from these 

trainings which help them unlock so much 

more potential from the machine just by 

attending them regularly,” adds Marcus. 

In this context it was very useful that the 

company conversed one of their halls into 

a training centre so they can offer the 

participants a hands-on experience. The 

hall is large enough to accommodate even 

a sprayer with its boom unfolded. Also, as 

the diagnosing equipment is sitting in the 

workshop next door, students can readily 

use it and track down any hiccup. 

Training and further training have the 

highest priority, both internally and 

externally, and translate into customer 

trainings and hands-on workshops for 

students from the Dresden Academy, for 

example. 

A fleet of about 60 well-equipped service vans gives 

Agrartechnik Sachsen the punch to offer a mobile 

service throughout their entire sales area. 

Furthermore, these premises are also used 

for a project that is close to the hearts of the 

owner and the customer service manager – 

a cooperation with educational institutions. 

One of these is the Dresden Academy which 

offers an academic farm management 

programme. At Agrartechnik Sachsen, they 

developed a 30-hour course on agricultural 

machinery which brings the students into 

the workshop for a hands-on and in-depth 

experience of the inner workings of modern 

farm machines. This project is sponsored by 

Krone and Horsch, says Steffen who trained 

as a farm machinery mechanic and then 

went on to pass the master craftsmen programme 

before he studied at TU university 

and obtained his doctorate. “We also support 

the Technical College at Freiberg-Zug 

which trains agricultural technicians and 

appreciates opportunities where students 

can gather hands-on experiences. With 

skilled labour being a hot topic and in 

short supply everywhere, we want to make 

a contribution to improve the situation,” 

sums up Marcus their commitment in this 

field. « 

VALIDATION CENTRE 

OFFICIALLY INAUGURATED 

The “Future Lab” validation centre 

presents a critical link in Krone’s quality 

assurance chain and an essential element 

in its product development processes. 

Featuring benchmark technology, the 

centre was inaugurated a few weeks ago 

In September, Krone officially opened the 

Future Lab validation centre at its Lingen 

site during a small ceremony. Bernard Krone, 

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the 

Krone Group, welcomed also the corporate 

neighbours in the Lingen Industrial Park 

and representatives of the craft companies 

that were involved in the construction of 

the centre as well as district administrator 

Marc-André Burgdorf, Lingen's Lord Mayor 

Dieter Krone and, of course, the approximately 

30 members of staff who work at 

the Future Lab. “What you can see here is 

absolutely state-of-the-art validation technology, 

which we will use to put our farm 

machines and commercial vehicles and also 

individual components from our suppliers 

through their paces before we install them 

in a Krone product,” said Bernard Krone. 

“An accurate and objective evidence of 

service life and functionality is essential for 

optimising the quality of our products. As 

such, it also presents an important contribution 

to customer satisfaction. In addition, 

the premises of the centre offer excellent 

opportunities for exploring further fields, 

such as autonomous driving." 

EFFECTIVE TESTS 

The Future Lab has three large-scale 

test benches, two stands for testing servo-hydraulic 

systems and one for making 

performance measurements. In addition 

to these, we also have various test stands 

for testing many different components and 

assemblies. More than mechanical tests, 

electronic systems and software applications 

are also being tested on the test site 

and in fully automated test environments 

in the Future Lab. 

After the official blessing by Pastor Martina 

Korporal and Chaplain Kristian Pohlmann, 

the invited guests had the opportunity 

to walk through the Future Lab and look 

at the various halls and test stands. The 

visitors were particularly impressed by 

the stand that simulates road conditions 

and which was installed only recently. The 

so-called X-Poster test bench allows Krone 

to compress 1 million kilometres clocked 

by a commercial trailer to a few weeks. The 

X-poster and any test stand is powered by 

a hydraulic motor unit with an output of 

up to 2 MW. 

A 20 MILLION 

EURO INVESTMENT 

Another test bench that was put into operation 

only recently is that for transmission 

performance tests. This is where large 

transmission units are endurance tested, 

such as those installed in the BiG X forage 

harvester, BiG Pack big baler or Premos 

pelletiser. These indoor facilities are complemented 

by an approx. 1.1km test course 

that also comprises 18% and 50% inclines. 

The test course is used for homologation 

tests, system tests for software releases or 

driving tests. 

All designing was made with a focus on sustainability; 

for instance, the entire 4,000m² 

validation centre is heated exclusively with 

waste heat from the test rigs, while part 

of the electricity demand is covered by a 

photovoltaic system designed to generate 

power for in-house consumption. 

The Krone Future Lab was built in just under 

a year on a total area of around 13ha. The 

investment volume of the Krone Group in 

the Future Lab amounts to approximately 

€20 million . 

44 

45

KNOWLEDGE 

LOADING, RAKING, WRAPPING 

INNOVATIONS 

FOR 2022 

Krone has added several new products to its range for the 2022 

season. We present three of them in this issue of XtraBlatt 

THE GX GENERAL-PURPOSE WAGON 

JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES WITH A 

WORLD-FIRST FEATURE 

The GX impresses by its versatility and 

exceptionally gentle yet speedy unloading. 

Available in 44m³ and 52m³ sizes, the GX 

440 has a tandem axle whereas the GX 520 

runs on a tridem setup; all come with an 

ISOBUS-compatible control unit. 

A robust fabric belt, two chains and the 

plexiglass headboard constitute the unloading 

unit which is powered by two hydraulic 

motors. As soon as the GX is in position, the 

chains pull the floor belt and the headboard 

towards the tailgate. A world first in this 

context is the Krone ExactUnload feature. 

For example, to set up a fresh clamp, the 

operator simply enters the desired length to 

the console. After that, the GX controls the 

unloading rate automatically and relative to 

the forward speed of the tractor. When the 

GX arrives at the end of the pre-set length, 

it is completely empty. By default, the floor 

moves at a rate of eight metres per minute, 

and this can be doubled in fast mode. Thus, 

the GX 440 is cleared out in approximately 

40 seconds. 

The GX also scores high marks for its exceptionally 

low kerb weight. It can increase 

its volume by telescoping the extensions 

hydraulically by another up to 700mm. 

Very practical indeed are also the rubber 

strips that seal the side walls, preventing 

any losses when hauling fine bulk materials 

such as grain or rape. 

SWADRO S 380, S 420 AND S 460 SINGLE ROTOR RAKES 

MORE OPERATOR COMFORT, 

MORE PERFORMANCE 

For the new season, Krone is adding three 

new single-rotor rakes to its range – the 

Swadro S 380, S 420 and S 460. What 

they all have in common is the compact 

headstock that couples to a three-point rear 

linkage. This reduces the load on the front 

axle by up to 10% compared to other trailed 

designs, translating into less power required 

for lifting so that even smaller lightweight 

tractors can take on swathing. The swathing 

EASYWRAP 165 T BALE WRAPPER 

ONE FOR THE 

PROFESSIONALS 

The new, trailed and two-arm 

EasyWrap 165 T wrapper wraps bales with 

diameters from 1.00 to 1.65 metres. A 

high-performance satellite arm wrapper, 

it effortlessly picks up and processes up to 

1,650kg bales and the wrapping arm orbits 

at impressive speeds of up to 40rpm. The 

drawbar swivels hydraulically and can carry 

ten additional rolls of film as an option. 

The 750mm film offers 55% or 70% prestretch 

according to user preference. After 

the number of wraps and bale size are 

set on the terminal, the rest is calculated 

automatically. At the end of the wrapping 

curtains are folded and adjusted conveniently, 

the rotor height is controlled with 

down to the millimetre precision, and the 

tine arms are folding with gap- and wearfree 

connections. 

The flexible connection between the main 

frame and the headstock is provided by a 

ball joint and roller in a slotted hole thereby 

implementing the Krone Jet Effect which 

prevents the tines from damaging the sward 

when raising / lowering on the headland. 

cycle, the film is cut and fixed in one smooth 

movement while a special mechanism traps 

the end of the roll; there are no annoying, 

loose film ends when working with the 

EasyWrap. 

An optional bale turner is available for the 

EasyWrap 165 T and is triggered from the 

cab at the touch of a button. The entire 

wrapping process – from picking up the bale 

to unloading it – can run fully automatically 

so operators can concentrate on driving. 

Another practical feature is the auto-centring 

mechanism when lifting the rake. 

The tracking mechanism with balancing 

arm leads to quiet and controlled tracking 

behind the tractor as well as tightest headland 

turns and clean rakes in corners. All 

new rakes have maintenance-free drivelines 

with overrunning clutches, so Swadro can 

coast smoothly on tractors with electronic/ 

hydraulic pto brakes. 

46 

47

FEATURE 

LIVESTOCK FARMING 

ENOUGH IS 

ENOUGH! 

What do the national football team and German 

agriculture have in common? For Hubert Schulte, 

a farmer in the municipality of Saterland west of Bremen, 

the answer to this question is clear: “When it comes to the 

national football team, you get the feeling that there are 

81 million coaches out there – each and every one of them 

certain they know where things went wrong in a match 

and, of course, only too willing to tell you how they would 

have done it better. It’s exactly the same with agriculture. 

Very few people understand the context or the facts, but 

everyone claims to know how it should be done.” 

Livestock farmers in Germany are 

being crushed between the millstones 

of rapidly tightening regulations, political 

ignorance and price pressure from the major 

food retailers, says Hubert Schulte. The farmer from 

Saterland in northern Germany has issued this clarion call: 

“Act now, because the clock has already passed midnight!” 

NO ACCOUNT OF REALITY 

Unsurprisingly, many consumers have a romanticised idea 

of agriculture from grandma’s time, while at the same time 

demanding that the strictest quality criteria are adhered 

to and that food prices are kept to a bare minimum. This is, 

after all, an image that is pushed heavily by the advertising 

industry, by the media in general and by certain political parties. 

The result is that conventional farmers are constantly 

vilified as sinners against the environment and perpetrators 

of cruelty to animals. “What really makes me angry is that 

people are being deliberately misled, despite knowledge 

to the contrary.” 

Unfortunately, this also applies to institutions in the agricultural 

sector. As an example, he cites the promotion of 

pasture grazing for dairy cattle as the “non plus ultra” (see 

January 2021 issue of XtraBlatt). “How many farmers in 

Germany have contiguous land of a size that allows them 

to graze a herd of, say, 300 or 400 cows? This is the sort of 

scale at which we have to work nowadays to make a living. 

And do these so-called experts know what grazing means 

for the management of a herd of that size? Demands of this 

kind take no account of reality.” 

THE CONSUMER SHOULD 

BEAR THE COST 

Hubert Schulte’s verdict on organic farming is exactly the 

same. The angry farmer says it is an absolute illusion to 

think food production could completely go organic while 

food prices stay as they are: “If a farmer in this country is to 

make a living from organic products, they will need much 

larger profit margins. But profits are exactly what farmers 

are not getting, which we can see now already. There are 

the strictest regulations producers of organic milk have 

to comply with. Yet the blunt message we get from the 

dairies is that, if we don’t accept their prices, they will just 

Hubert Schulte, a farmer from Saterland: “Higher standards involve 

greater costs which producers cannot simply be expected to absorb. And 

farmers need assurances about future policy.” 

source the raw material from abroad. And the same goes 

for organic products. But that’s something the consumer 

isn’t informed about.” 

Hubert Schulte has a similar view of animal welfare 

concepts which he considers to be window dressing. 

He is sceptical of the much-discussed plans in Germany 

that consumers pay a few cents more for meat that was 

produced to animal welfare standards. He says, a few cents 

are not enough to even remotely cover the costs farmer 

incur by complying with regulations. “I have nothing at all 

against new standards being defined in animal husbandry 

or additional investment being made in environmental 

protection. But it is not acceptable that we alone should 

always bear the costs. When you buy a car and order extra 

features you understand that these have to be paid for 

and that fuel consumption will be greater because of all 

the extra electronics making the car much heavier. The 

same principle should also apply to food: higher standards 

involve greater costs which the producers cannot simply 

be expected to absorb. And farmers also need assurances 

about future policy, so that if they invest today, they won’t 

face a completely new regulatory setup tomorrow. That’s 

what is destroying our agriculture.” « 

48 

49

INTERVIEW 

SMART SUPPORT 


Digital applications for agricultural equipment offer many benefits – also 

for service engineers. XtraBLatt reports what the Krone “Smart Support” 

has on offer 

“Smart” is a buzzword in the digital age 

and is mostly used in the sense of “simple, 

easy, better, intelligent” – smart home, 

smart solutions, smart communications. 

Welcome to the future. Digitalisation 

has also moved into farm equipment 

and farming where service engineers use 

telemetry and remote diagnostics as these 

offer a great potential for saving costs. 

For this purpose, Krone is constantly 

expanding its range of digital products 

which are grouped under the “mykrone. 

green” platform. One of the latest innovations 

to be presented at Agritechnica 

2022 is “Smart Support”, i. e. a “better 

support”. XtraBlatt talked to Sebastian 

Tillmann, the product manager of Smart 

Support at Technical Customer Service, 

and Henrik Bauhaus who is in charge of 

Smart Support within in the mykrone. 

green team. 

XtraBlatt: What is the objective of Smart 

Support? 

Henrik Bauhaus: Smart Support is a digital 

application for our service partners and 

industrial end customers. It provides access 

to service-related machine data via an 

internet platform. This helps our service 

partners to get comprehensive and rapid 

support. 

Smart Support is embedded in the Krone 

portal “mykrone.green”, to which our 

customers, Krone service partners and the 

aftersales engineers of the agricultural 

machinery factory have access. With Smart 

Support, it will be possible to retrieve service-related 

data from the machines, such 

as current error messages, the error history 

and the physical location of the machine. In 

addition, the CCI 800 or CCI 1200 terminal 

screens or the readings on the screen can be 

viewed in real time, which of course is an 

enormous help in troubleshooting. 

XtraBlatt: Does that mean that everybody 

– the customer, the engineer and the 

manufacturer – sees the same data? 

50 

51

INTERVIEW 

1 Smart Support is to be launched officially at Agritechnica. 

The system will go “live” for the 2022 harvest season. 

2 Sebastian Tillmann, Smart Support Product Manager at the 

Technical Customer Service Department: “Only the customers 

can see the agronomic data, no one else.” 

3 Henrik Bauhaus, Smart Support product manager in the 

mykrone.green team: “The key to any feature and information 

at mykrone.green lies with our customers.” 

4 

4 On the internet portal “mykrone.green”, Krone customers can 

register their machines and then retrieve the “agronomic” data, 

for example. 

Henrik Bauhaus: No. At least not automatically. 

The customer decides who actually has 

access to which data. To do this, they first 

enable the dealer(s) of their trust in their own 

Smart Telematics account. Then they do the 

same for the Krone Service engineers, if they 

find this helpful. 

XtraBlatt: That’s quite confusing. Who has 

access to which information? 

Sebastian Tillmann: For farmers and 

contractors there are only three things to 

remember: The first is “mykrone.green”. This 

is the name of the internet portal where all 

digital interactions take place. This is, so to 

speak, the digital “house”. Every customer 

has their own key to this house, i.e. their 

own password. 

In this house, there is a room called “Smart 

Telematics”, to which everybody has access 

to the data generated by the registered 

machines. The registered owner can be a 

farmer or contractor but also a dealer who 

registers their own demonstration machines. 

1 

So, machine owners register and verify their 

machines to and on the platform. Once this 

is done, all the data the machine communicates 

is collected there. Different data 

are collected in different subsystems – or 

“rooms”. For example, customers can find 

all the agronomic data there, including all 

outputs, such as number of bales baled, 

area harvested, etc. Only the customers 

themselves have access to this data, no one 

else, not the dealer not we at Krone. This is 

very important to us, because data privacy 

is our top priority. 

We will add further rooms to this house in 

the future. One will be the “Smart Support” 

room. This is the third room of those mentioned 

at the beginning. The key to this door 

has the customer, but they can pass it on to 

their dealer or to us the manufacturer. This 

requires an active handover procedure in 

Smart Telematics. They can hand over the 

key either temporarily or permanently. Once 

access to Smart Support has been granted to 

the dealer or Krone, we can only see those 

data that deal with fault finding and help 

2 

3 

to solve the reported error or malfunction 

as quickly as possible. 

Henrik Bauhaus: In other words – Smart 

Support is for dealers and looks at the 

machine data through the eyes of a service 

engineer. When the machine owner starts 

data transmission, i.e. verifies the machine 

in mykrone.green, he can clear his dealer 

in the Smart Telematics room so they see 

these data too. This means the engineer at 

the workshop and we, the manufacturer, are 

able to discuss the reported malfunction. 

This speeds up any service communication 

and troubleshooting procedure enormously. 

XtraBlatt: Still, it sounds elaborate … 

Henrik Bauhaus: But it’s not. This is clear 

when you enter mykrone.green the first time 

and have a look around. Each individual 

customer machine must be cleared for data 

sharing, usually only once. 

Following this principle, we have progressively 

added further rooms, i.e. further services of 

which the machine owner decides whether 

he/she wants to use them. An example of 

this is the option of booking of additional 

engine power into the forage harvester for a 

specific period of time. So in short, the key to 

everything that happens at mykrone.green 

lies with our customers. 

XtraBlatt: Speaking of booking… this begs 

the question of what does this service cost? 

Sebastian Tillmann: The access to mykrone. 

green and to Smart Telematics is initially free 

of charge for end customers. They acquire it 

with the purchase of a machine. Yet when 

buying specific digital products here, such as 

extra engine power for the forage harvester, 

you pay a fee. 

If our service partners at the dealerships want 

to be part of this system and benefit from 

remote maintenance and fault diagnosis, 

they’ll pay a certain fee, either on an annual 

basis or for shorter periods. However, this fee 

is a dealer-related not machine-related fee. 

In this respect, the costs are very manageable 

compared to the massive benefits dealerships 

and their customers get from this. 

XtraBlatt: Would you give us an example? 

Sebastian Tillmann: When a machine signals 

a malfunction or error, this is indicated 

to the operator on the machine and also 

to the dealer. This is able to identify the 

machine without having to make several 

phone calls. With this information at hand, 

the mechatronic can hop on the van right 

away, carrying the right tools and spare 

parts. In the past, he would drive out to the 

site, inspect the machine and then either 

go back to get the right component or call 

another colleague to bring it out. In this 

respect, Smart Support saves an enormous 

amount of time and ultimately costs for 

customers. In addition, every hour of downtime 

is so costly in the midst of harvest. Costs 

can quickly add up to €1,000/h in a forage 

harvesting chain, for example. So time is 

money in service – and digital tools help to 

reduce these costs enormously. 

XtraBlatt: When will Smart Support be fully 

operational? 

Sebastian Tillmann: At Agritechnica, we 

will officially launch the system and give 

our customers a hands-on experience at our 

stand. At the same time, we are field trialling 

the system on machines of selected partners. 

The system will then go “live” for harvest 

2022, which means in April. 

Henrik Bauhaus: At the same time, we 

continue expanding and optimising the 

features, just as we do with other products 

at mykrone.green. This system continues to 

grow and will progressively offer more and 

more options. « 

52 

53

KNOWLEDGE 

digital “mykrone.green” data portal which 

provides all agricultural Krone customers 

with access to all digital services offered 

by the group. 

“The SmartConnect telemetric boxes have 

been a standard feature on the BiG X and BiG 

M lines and an option on specific machines 

for a number of years now, such as the BiG 

Pack square baler of the fourth generation 

as well as Comprima Plus and VariPack Plus. 

These telemetric features are however also 

very useful for all our products, especially 

for our trailed machines like mowers, rakes 

and tedders. So we took the solar boxes 





Stefan Niehof is one of the product managers for the 

digital “mykrone.green” data portal. 

SMARTCONNECT SOLAR 

BOX TO GO 

With the telemetric “SmartConnect” 

module having been a feature on the 

BiG lines for quite some time, 

Krone now offers the universal “Smart- 

Connect Solar” module – a transferable 

option for trailed machines that is 

powered by a solar cell 

What do a 40ft container and an agricultural 

rake have in common? 

Not much it seems at first glance, but quite 

a lot at second glance. The common ground 

is – typically in modern times – digitalisation 

and the interconnection of machines 

so these can communicate their data for 

evaluation and further use. These machines 

are mostly self-propelleds – tractors, forage 

harvesters or trucks – all of which have their 

own on-board power sources to power their 

telemetric units. Yet, containers or swap 

frame beds have no on-board power sources. 

And yet, fleet operators want to locate 








are maintenance-free and so small in size 

that they are easily mounted to containers 

and swap bodies or beds,” explains Stefan 

Niehof. “Today, there are tens of thousands 

in service in the world of logistics.” Stefan 

is one of the product managers of the 













far less complex than those generated by a 

forager,” explains Stefan. “The solar boxes 

feature GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile phone, data logger 

and a web interface so they can transfer 

data in real time to the smartphone, tablet 

or pc, enabling machine owners or fleet 

operators to retrieve position and job data 

from mykrone.green. 

And this is certainly also very useful for the 

less complex machines – mowers, rakes, 

tedders – especially when these are contract 

or leased machines,” continues Stefan. “For 

example, these data help contractors count 

the number of operating hours for billing 

purposes.” 

VERSATILE AND 

UNIVERSAL 

Another benefit of SmartConnect Solar 

is that fleet owners can register all their 

fleet machines – including those of other 

makers – to mykrone.green and then collect 

and transfer information from and to all 

machines running in the harvest chain. 

After all, farmers and contractors usually 

run mixed rather than mono-brand fleets. 

Stefan points out another highlight of the 

new development: The solar box is transferrable 

to other machines. It just has to 

be assigned a different name in mykrone. 

green. “This makes SmartConnect Solar a 

true “box to go” and an intriguing option 

for a consistent data management.” « 

54 

55

INTERNATIONAL 

KATSLÖSA AGRO, RYDSGÅRD (SWEDEN) 

Producing more than 20,000 big bales and 25,000 small bales 

per year, Katslösa Agro is one of the largest haylage producers in 

Sweden. 

FOR HORSES 

JUST THE 

BEST 

“We produce haylage for around 

2,500 horses,” says Morgan Nilsson, 

the company’s specialist for animal 

feed production. 

Morgan Nilsson and Nicklas Flink specialise 

in the production of haylage for horses. 

They measure the maturity of the crop to 

determine the optimum timing for the cut 

and also provide their customers nutrient 

with balance sheets on special request. 

The haylage is preserved and stored 

as big or small square bales 

Katslösa Agro is located on the south 

coast of Sweden and northwest of 

Ystad. The province of Skåne is one of 

Sweden's most productive farming regions 

that is mainly known for grain. The 1,300ha 

land of Morgan Nilsson and Nicklas Flink 

stretches from Malmö to the east coast 

of Sweden. Even though grassland makes 

up 45% of the Swedish farmland, there is 

only little forage production in the south 

where Morgan and Nicklas grow grass 

on a 550ha area. The rest of their land is 

reserved for grain. Nicklas also manages 

another grain farm in Staffanstorp 50km 

in the northwest whilst Morgan focuses 

on growing forage grass in Katslösa. The 

grass grows on fertile arable land and not on 

permanent grassland as usual. They grow 

grass during three seasons and then rotate 

to oilseed rape, wheat and barley. 

WRAPPING SMALL 

BALES 

The agricultural engineers started with 

only 10ha of land when they founded their 

company in 2005. Both studied at SLU, the 

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 

in Alnarp, and often worked at a contracting 

farm as students and after graduation. 

“Many people tried to bale small HD bales 

but gave up quickly, because there was too 

much manual work involved in it,” explains 

Morgan. “But we have never gave up the 

idea of baling haylage into small bales.” 

The plan was to market horse feed of a 

high quality that met special customer 

requirements. 

From the beginning on, the two entrepreneurs 

invested in high-quality machines 

and financed them by offering contract 

56 

57

INTERNATIONAL 

1 Wrapped 60-70kg hay bales are 

in high demand with Katslösa 

customers. 

2 The forage harvest fleet is an 

all-out Krone fleet, including two 

big balers. 

3 The feed is delivered by the 

company truck within a radius of 

200km. Long distances are covered 

by a haulier. 

1 

2 

3 

4 The success recipe for horse 

haylage is forage of a guaranteed 

quality and nutrient level, grown 

from grass mixes that are blended 

to customer specifications. 

baling. Over the years, the two trialled 

various technical options, always in search 

of the ergonomic optimum. Today, they 

produce small bales exclusively for their 

own customers using a stationary baler. 

The haylage is transported by a Krone ZX 

self-loading wagon and emptied into a 

hopper with rollers that feed the material 

into the baler. From here, the finished bales 

are automatically conveyed to a wrapper. 

Then batches of twelve finished bales are 

stacked on a pallet by a robot. Each pallet 

is then marked with an ID tag for full traceability 

at all times. This tagging is one of the 

few things that are still done manually in 

the production chain. But the engineer is 

already working on an automated solution. 

Baling, wrapping and stacking happens 

immediately after the cut and in the season. 

When the harvest is over, all machines stand 

idle except the Scania truck that transports 

the batches to the customers on order. Most 

stables are located within a 200km radius. 

Any deliveries further than 600km are 

contracted out to a haulier. 

Selling more than 20,000 big bales and 

25,000 small bales per year, Katslösa Agro 

is one of the largest producers and suppliers 

of haylage in Sweden and holds the uncontested 

number 1 position as a producer of 

wrapped 60–70kg haylage bales. The small 

format is very popular with horse owners. 

INDIVIDUAL 

GRASS MIXES 

The exclusivity of the service is not only attributed 

to the bale size but above all to the 

quality of the feed. Morgan Nilsson explains: 

“We sow grass on land where others normally 

grow wheat, barley and sugar beet; and 

therefore we harvest particularly high-quality 

forage.” Many thought this was a crazy 

thing to do – especially at the beginning. 

More than that, the two also sow their 

own proprietary grass mixes which meet 

individual customer requirements. About 

80% of the mixes are “custom blends”, 

with timothy or timothy grass making up 

50–60% of a mix, because the protein and 

sugar contents of these grasses are lower 

than those of ryegrass, which is very important 

for horses. Then fescue and ryegrass 

are added to the blend. The varieties vary in 

terms of ripening and hence also in terms 

of harvest dates. 

Customers order their feeds at nutrient 

levels they consider appropriate for their 

animals' performance. This option to order 

roughage of specific protein and energy 

levels is particularly appealing for owners 

of sport horses. The average protein content 

of the feed is 50–60g/kg of DM whereas 

protein levels in forage for high-performance 

horses may reach 85g/kg of DM. 

Lower contents are much appreciated by 

amateur riders. Morgan aims specifically at 

meeting the energy requirements of sport 

and leisure horses. The protein content, for 

example, is on average much lower than 

that of cattle feed. “We produce haylage 

for around 2,500 horses,” says the farmer 

proudly. Among their customers are such 

renowned racing stables as Joakim Lövgren 

or of the show jumper Peder Fredricson. 

For ten years now, Morgan and Nicklas 

have been analysing and documenting 

the nutrient contents of their fields and 

crops. Initially, they were ridiculed for this, 

but their success shows that Katslösa Agro 

discovered a niche that they are serving very 

well. After all, horse owners are willing to 

pay for the extra effort that goes into the 

feed for their horses. Says Morgan: “Today, 

people understand that high-quality feed 

benefits the animal’s health and reduces 

follow-up costs, such vet costs.” After all, our 

customers get the guarantee that they buy 

feeds of a consistently high quality – and 

not just proverbially. The bales are sold with 

a one-year “producer guarantee”. 

ANALYSING ALL THE 

WAY UP TO THE CUT 

About two weeks before the cut, the grass 

is examined for its nutrients. Based on the 

results in the previous years, they then 

calculate how the various nutrient levels 

are expected to develop. “Every few days we 

measure and compare,” says Morgan. Apart 

from measuring the standard parameters 

such as dry matter, crude protein, crude 

fibre content and crude ash, they also 

measure trace elements. These data are of 

great interest for owners of competition 

horses. The last analysis is made on the 

day the material is baled so they can assure 

customers get the quality they seek. 

They make two cuts in a season, cutting 

the fields in the eastern part of the country 

two weeks later than the fields in the west, 

which of course gives them a wider harvest 

time window. Growing several varieties 

increases the time window, too. The weather 

has of course a great influence on the 

success. A few days of rain – and the perfect 

date is missed and nutrient levels quickly 

fall short of targeted levels. This makes it 

all the more important to have a powerful 

harvest fleet. 

Mowing is done with a Krone-Butterfly 

combination consisting of an EasyCut F 

360 CV and an EasyCut B 1000 CV Collect. 

This combination has proven particularly 

useful in the high-yielding stands that are 

cut only twice a year. The cutting height is 

set to 10cm to avoid contamination. After 

all, zero contamination is the overriding 

principle throughout the forage chain and 

this includes tedding and raking. Therefore, 

two KWT 11.22s and one KWT 1600 are 

deployed to keep up with the mower combination. 

These are followed by three Swadro 

TC 760s and one Swadro 42. Baling is done 

with two BiG Pack 890 XC balers. Morgan 

places great importance on bale density, 

because this is critical for the preservation 

quality as it prevents mould formation or 

undesirable fermentation in air pockets. 

Last year, the big balers were equipped 

with a Krone bale accumulator which has 

boosted bale the collecting chain enormously. 

“The BaleCollect makes it 

very easy to collect the bales from 

the field,” says Morgan. Upon 

arrival on the farm, the bales 

are wrapped by three stationary 

wrappers which 

finish 200 bales in one 

hour. The bales are stored 

immediately after baling 

and only touched again 

when removed from the 

store for delivery to the 

customer. This is another 

important detail which 

helps maintain the stability 

and quality of the forage. In addition to 

that, all bales – big or small – are receive 16 

layers of film wrap. “Usually, people apply 

only twelve wraps, but we prefer to play it 

safe,” explains Morgan. 

Maximum quality is the overriding tune at 

Katslösa Agro – and this goes through all 

stages of the production chain from the 

field all the way to the customer. Output 

and capacity of their machines are tailored 

exactly to their needs. And after they have 

4 

been measuring, analysing and logging 

nutrient data for years, Morgan is able 

to provide detailed information on the 

nutrient levels of each of his feeds right off 

the cuff. He knows exactly which bale was 

wrapped with which film batch and was 

delivered to which customer. Traceability 

is enormously important at Katslösa Agro. 

Having gathered specialist knowledge in 

haylage production, the entrepreneurs have 

developed into specialist producers of horse 

feed and are getting better at this every 

year. “We want to be perfect in what we 

do,” concludes Morgan. « 

58 

59

We connect 

TRADITION 

& VISION 

KRONE has been inextricably rooted in agriculture since 1906. 

We relate to the people who farm their land following the rhythms of nature. 

We do the mowing, swathing, chopping and baling. 

We connect field and technology. Together, we make the most of your crop. 

#KRONECTED

XtraBlatt Issue 02-2021

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