Agricultural baler with bale formation control based on power requirements and usage

An agricultural baler includes: a chassis; a coupler configured for connecting to a power source; a bale forming chamber including an apron assembly; an apron tensioning system that controls a baling pressure exerted on a bale forming in the bale forming chamber; a bale release that releases a fully formed bale; and a controller operatively coupled to the apron tensioning system and the bale release. The controller is configured to: set a release size of the fully formed bale; receive a PTO power consumption signal or an available power signal from a tractor controller; determine a maximum available power based on the received signal; compare the maximum available power to a threshold power; and output a control signal to the apron tensioning system to decrease the baling pressure without changing the release size when the maximum available power is at a predetermined power value, relative to the threshold power.