A 10.4m pick-up and belt-type swather developed by Krone has been designed with particular emphasis on gentle handling of delicate leafy crops such as lucerne and clover – though it will also work in hay and silage.

Like others of its ilk, the Swativo can bring together forage that has been spread behind the mower into a single central swath or to either side using a pick-up reel and rotor to propel the material on to a pair of bi-directional, variable-speed belts.

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This combination can also be used to bring two swaths into one and to place swaths on top of or next to each other to meet the appetite of a hard-charging self-propelled forage harvester.

Lift and shift

In the Swativo’s case, there is the proven EasyFlow pick-up, comprising a crop press roller and a cam-free reel with five rows of tines.

Rubber-coated rollers on the underside of the “bed” aim to minimise any risk of raking in soil when passing over a rough field surface.

A transfer rotor follows next, the speed-adjustable FlexFlow design of the Swativo mirroring the shark’s fin arrangement of a non-chopping baler intake rotor.

Finally, the 1.2m wide hydraulically-driven side delivery belts are set at quite a steep angle and have castellated strips to help keep a grip on dry, light forage crops.

Also among the machine’s features are isobus control, automatic belt stop for neat swath ends, section control to automate individual lift/lower of the two units in wedge-shaped areas, and mechanical forced steering for corners and other awkward spots.

However, unless something about the machine really appeals, there’s no need to rush to the nearest Krone dealer to nab one; the Swativo T 1040 Pro won’t be available in the UK until 2028 at the earliest.