Vermeer introduces nimble ZR5 self-propelled round baler

Have you ever looked at a self-propelled lawn mower and said, “I wish my baler turned that sharp.”  Well, Vermeer said, “We can do that!”

RealAgriculture’s Kelvin Heppner got a chance to talk to Josh Vrieze, with Vermeer, at the Farm Progress Show at Boone, Iowa, about their new ZR5 self-propelled baler, that turns like a lawnmower.

Vrieze says, “You look at the regular tractor-baler combination and there’s some real inefficiencies that we’re able to take care of with this. By going self-propelled and by also putting the cab right over the suspension you feel a lot more comfortable going faster with the baler. You’re also able to zero-turn on the end rows.”

While a self-propelled baler is impressive in its own right, Vrieze points out this machine is totally automated. “The other thing that makes this a lot more efficient is the automation that we’ve got in this. So the baler will stop automatically, it’ll tie automatically, it opens the tailgate, closes the tailgate, taking all those inefficiencies out of what a normal operator would lose.”

While the self-propelled baler is a prototype, Vermeer has gone into limited production and there will be a few machines in farmer’s field this fall.

Check out the video below for more on Vermeer’s ZR5 self-propelled round baler.

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