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Krone BiG X Forage Harvesters are available in two configurations.
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”.
Ashburton-based Carrfields has announced that, from the New Year, it is officially authorised to sell Krone Forager Harvesters and Kubota Tractors across the Southland and Otago regions it represents.
Recently named Farm Machine of the Year 2026 in the forage and harvesting category at Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany, the arrival of the Krone BiG Pack HDP II 1290 Gen 6, is being touted as a major leap forward in baling technology for New Zealand farmers and contractors.
Well-known for an extensive range of round balers, Krone’s new CombiPack HDP looks to have several features that sets it apart from its competitors.
In 2024, German manufacturer Krone introduced the F400 Fold, a 4m wide disc front mower, featuring end modules that hinge rearwards to reduce the transport width to less than 3m.
While the Krone Big M has set the standard for many years, sources close to Rural News, with an ear to the ground and a periscope to see over high hedges, tell us that German transport and effluent specialist Fliegl has plans to move into the sector, having recently acquired rights to the Cutaro SR 1100 self-propelled triple mower developed by Swiss company ARB-Tec.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.
The Government has announced its support for 18 community-based initiatives through its Rural Wellbeing Fund.
New data shows that pork remains one of the more affordable meat options for New Zealand households at a time when grocery costs continue to put pressure on budgets.
