In 1962, Farmhand became the exclusive Irish importer for Krone. According to Stephen Scrivener, sales and marketing director for Farmhand, “the success of all Krone disc mowers is based on a clean cut, reasonably-priced wear parts and unmatched longevity”.
“Krone mowers have been our star product over the last 10 years. They might be built in Germany, but they are clearly designed for tough Irish conditions and this is well recognised in the market,” explained Stephen.
Jason Burke, who is a silage contractor in the southeast, swapped from a competitive brand mower to a Krone EasyCut TS 320CV trailed mower last season.
“I spoke to a few contractors about different mowers and they all have been saying the Krone was coming out on top,” he said.
“We had two other brands previous to this mower, which have worked well, but from speaking to everyone the Krone seems to be the number one choice for contractors and farmers, so we went with the Krone ECTS 320CV trailed mower.”
Krone are mower specialists with 58 different models, from the BiG M to 2m farmer machines. With their heavy build and well thought-out design, they have become an Irish farmer and contractor favourite.
Clean cut
Unlike many other mower beds, the Krone mower features a one-piece fully welded casing, made of heavy gauge steel for huge strength and durability. The wedge shape gives a clean cut, even in lodged crops.
“As you can see [in the video below] it’s leaving a fierce nice finish on the field, it’s cutting it down to the clay which is what lads want,” Jason explains.
“It seems to float better on fields, which leaves a cleaner cut.”
The V-Shaped frame of the EasyCut TS 320CV with the side-mounted drawbar is robust and compact. Its generous ground clearance makes for plenty of vertical travel.
Like all Krone EasyCut mowers, the ECTS 320CV features the Krone DuoGrip suspension system. This patented system suspends the bed at the its centre of gravity via two arms. This allows the bed freedom to float over the roughest ground and give the cleanest cut.
“I like the clearance; if you’re in a heavy crop the mower will lift up nice and high versus other brands,” Jason added.
Compact design
The short, side-mounted drawbar on the Krone EC TS trailed mower range is perfect for managing turns on tight headlands.
“People ask why I didn’t go for the mower on the lifts but it’s a simple reason, we’re cutting silage with the JF 900 and it follows the corners a lot nicer than the mower on the lifts,” Jason explained.
“It’s a compact designed mower, it has the shorter drawbar than previous models, which leaves the corners tighter and nicer. It follows very nice on the road it folds up grand and neat.”
Running in line behind the tractor during road travel, the ECTS 320 does not exceed 3m transport width, gives plenty of ground clearance and is approved for 40km/h – making it extremely efficient to travel between fields.
Peace of mind
“I’m very impressed with the new safecut bed, you have peace of mind going to mow a field. You know if there is a foreign object in the field, you will just break a shear pin within the disc whereas the other brands I had before, would let you break a gear in the bed,” Jason explained.
Every farmer and contractor mowing has been faced with foreign objects and the risk that if you hit one, you could be facing a big repair bill. However, with Krone SafeCut as standard on every mower, this doesn’t have to be the case.
Tried and tested in Ireland over many years, SafeCut is a patented Krone system that protects the complete driveline in the mower bed. There is a roll-pin in the hub of the mower so if you hit a foreign object, the roll pin snaps and the disc threads up and out of the way, so no major damage is caused.
If you do happen to hit something, a 10 minute job and a 20c part is all it takes to get you mowing again.
User-friendly
“In fairness, they have made [Krone mowers] very user-friendly. There’s just two handles; one adjusts down the tilt of your bed and the other is the baffle on your conditioner. They’re two easy settings to change,” Jason continued.
“Your toolbox is mounted on the frame which carries your blades and your shear pins and stuff like that, and you have your tool then for changing your blades.
“The quick fit blades, which the previous brand [he used] didn’t have, are very handy.”
The front curtain folds-up to give convenient access to the discs for easy cleaning and blade replacement. Quick change blades are considered a must by anyone operating a mower. The blades on any Krone mower are quick and easy to reverse or replace without leaving the field.
Easy to drive
“It seems to be a fierce easy driven mower, mowing there at 13km and the tractor was just reading 55% engine power, which would mean that a 90hp or 100hp tractor would mow no problem with it,” Jason concluded.
“It’s a fierce easy driven mower.”
Newly introduced to Ireland in 2020, the EC TS 320 CV is one of six new trailed EasyCut mowers available from Krone. If you would like more information, please contact your local Krone dealer, or follow this link.
