An agricultural baler with a stuffer unit that is movable through a stuffer cycle for transferring crop material in charges into the main bale chamber may include a passive disc braking system on the stuffer shaft in order to brake the stuffer unit. The stuffer shaft is always braked during the entire stuffer cycle, not just the last phase of the cycle. Therefore, the stuffer unit must be driven with enough force to not only drive the stuffer unit itself, but also with enough force to overcome the braking force of the passive brake, this results in additional power consumption and generation of heat. Disclosed is an agricultural baler including； a hydraulic brake associated with and configured for acting as a brake on the stuffer unit during a portion of the stuffer cycle and configured for delivering power to the stuffer unit during another portion of the stuffer cycle.
