KUHN'S latest large square baler has been released to the Australian market after extensive testing last year.
And according to AFGRI Equipment Moora branch manager Josh Schreurs, he expects 90 per cent of sales in 2020 will be for the baler, designated the ISOBUS-compatible LSB 1290 iD.
"The main difference that sets it apart from competitive models is the split plunger design," Mr Schreurs said.
"It is the only baler on the market with this feature which provides 25 per cent more bale density and you can achieve that even in less desirable baling conditions."
The innovative double-plunger technology earned Kuhn a silver medal for Innovation at Germany's largest agricultural field days, Agritechnica, when it was launched.
The LSB 1290 iD is designed to specifically allow more efficient handling, transport and storage of forage crops and is considered particularly relevant for the increasingly important sector producing biomass for renewable energy.
The key to the baler's ability to generate increased density in bales is its novel twin impact plunger system (branded TWINPACT by Kuhn), which creates 60 tonnes of even pressure across the entire bale.
Normally this would require twice the force exerted by a conventional plunger, hence the TWINPACT design.
The plunger is split into upper and lower sections so that bales are compressed in two steps.
This allows the doubling of force required to create a 25pc increase in density, but with a comparable load on the driveline to that of a conventional 120 centimetre wide x 90cm high baler, with no increase in tractor horsepower requirements.
In addition, the new LSB 1290 iD features additional developments to ensure its suitability for the more challenging conditions presented by energy crops, including a 60cm diameter intake rotor to ensure a controlled crop flow to the pre-chamber, easily replaceable high strength rotor tines and high resistance replaceable wear plates.
According to Kuhn, the short distance between the rotor and the pick-up yields the even crop flow, and it also makes possible higher forward speeds, to improve productivity.
The LSB 1290 iD also has a six string, double knotter binding system adapted for extremely high density bales and hydraulically-driven blowers to keep the knotter area clean.
According to Mr Schreurs, tractor power requirement is "in the mid-200hp (150kW) range".
AFGRI Equipment Moora is now the large square bale centre for Kuhn in WA with specialist and factory-backed technicians.