Krone XDisc 710 Now Fits John Deere, New Holland Foragers
Krone's XDisc 710 direct-cut header can now be used by John Deere and New Holland forage harvesters, as well as the Krone Big X it was originally designed for.
While turnover was back slightly at €2.3 billion in 2024/2025 (previous year €2.4 billion), the German Krone Group saw earnings fall from €107 million to €40.1 million.
While the commercial vehicle division accounted for around €1.4 billion of total sales, the farm machinery business showed an impressive €846 million turnover.
Although farm incomes showed a slight improvement over the period, political uncertainty, rising costs and climate risks combined to dampen farmers’ resolve to invest in agricultural machinery.
Bernard Krone, chairman of the supervisory board of the Krone Group, noted that short-term customer purchasing behaviour, linked directly to the overall economic situation, is common in the commercial vehicle sector.
“We are increasingly observing similar behaviour in the agricultural machinery segment, with contractors and farmers globally reacting to political and economic uncertainties, by holding back on new investments.”
Despite this hesitation, agricultural machinery sales increased by 1.2% in the fiscal year ending July 2025, with 26.3% of sales generated in the German home market. One third of the remainder was spread across Western European markets. Eastern Europe, North America and the rest of the world accounted for sales of 10%, 20% and 10.7%, respectively. Looking ahead, the company expects sales to remain at similar levels this year, as unrest and international customs policies continue to influence the global economy.
A company spokesman commented, “we have to accept that long-term economic trade agreements no longer provide the stability we are used to, proving to be a major challenge for an internationally active industrial company such as Krone, as we have to carefully plan group-wide production, global distribution with retailers and our service activities. While we are seeing a slight recovery in the German agricultural market, we will also be gradually repositioning ourselves in future markets such as Asia and India”.
Alliance Group's $16 million programme to install innovative heat pump systems at its Otago and Southland processing plants wins a New Zealand Energy Excellence Award after cutting annual emissions by more than 24,000 tonnes of CO₂e.
The arable sector losing good people and land is a major concern for the 2026 Arable Farmers of the Year, Mid Canterbury seed growers John and Mel McCaw.
The terrible floods that hit the Wairarapa may have subsided, but the danger to farmers still exists, according to local Federated Farmers president Rob Hickson.
New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) encourages afforestation while not achieving climate goals, says a new report released by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
Are you ready for El Nino? That’s the question asked by Beef+Lamb NZ’s Ian Tarbotton who leads B+LNZ’s farm extension service.
Bigger, bolder salads packed with colour, crunch and flavour are making headlines overseas — and the arrival of fresh spring vegetables means New Zealanders can now get chopping too, creating their own Great Kiwi Spring Salad.
OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…
OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.