Owner of a BiG X 580

Patrick Smith is one of the first to purchase Krone’s new BiG X models in the lower horsepower range. Patrick lives in Canton, the upstate New York town where he is the third generation operator of his family’s dairy, L.T. Smith & Sons Farms, LLC. Their operation is an 850 head dairy with 1,600 acres in production. He has been a Krone customer since 2008 when he bought his first Krone mower. Most recently, he has purchased one of Krone’s new models of self-propelled forage harvesters, the BiG X 580.

Patrick was excited when he heard about Krone’s new BiG X models in the lower horsepower range. That enthusiasm has yet to fade, and Patrick has become a loyal member of the Krone family. His favorite feature on his BiG X is VariStream – the variable crop flow control that reduces fuel consumption and increases outputs with a spring-loaded drum bottom and accelerator backing plate.

“The output is very good compared to our old machine,” Patrick said. “When that machine is moving, we put a lot of product through it. I certainly test it with how much crop we are putting in the windrows. I think the science behind the fuel savings and increased output is sound.”

Some of his favorite features of the machine are the extra set of feed rolls, the touchscreen display, and the adjustments being simple, intuitive and easy to navigate. After his first cut this spring went smoothly, Patrick was surprised by how quickly he adapted to the machine. “It is easy to operate in the field, and starting, stopping, and turning on the ends is very quick,” he said.

His EasyFlow 380 S hay head worked smoothly and quietly as well. Patrick says he is also impressed with Krone’s EasyCollect corn head. The chain pick-up on the EasyCollect requires less horsepower and picks up downed corn well. It’s a well-designed corn head with less parts so there is less wear.

“It just looks like a heavy-duty, well-built head, and it has a camless track,” he said. “We had issues with our old chopper and had to rebuild the cams. So taking that out of the equation made a lot of sense to me.”

White’s Farm Supply in Loweville, NY, Patrick’s local Krone dealer, has built a good relationship with him, and Patrick has gotten to know the BiG X mechanic well.

“The communication is easy, and that’s the most important thing with a dealer,” he said.

With far longer intervals between maintenance, innovative features, and consistently smooth, quiet performance, Patrick’s BiG X 580 keeps him running in the field longer. When asked about the quality of the BiG X, he said “I’ve been completely satisfied, and it is doing what I expected it to do. Plus, I can easily get through a week’s worth of work without a lot of maintenance.”

Patrick did his research before buying Krone and extensively explored all self-propelled forage harvesters available in the market.

“I felt confident buying the BiG X,” he said. “I feel Krone builds a high quality, heavy-duty product. When I looked at the features of the new series, there was no comparison to other manufacturers. The Krone BiG X 580 has a lot that no one else has.”