The Hessin name is synonymous with reliable and quality agricultural contracting work around the mid-Ulster region. Irish Tractor & Agri magazine caught up with Harold Hessin who runs the well established contracting business, as well as the family farm, alongside his brother Wilbert.
Whatever your agricultural needs, Hessin Bros has the equipment and personnel to get the job done.
Located in Moneymore, Magherafelt, Hessin Bros has been operating in the mid-Ulster area since the late seventies. It offers a wide range of services to the local agricultural community and reliability and quality of work are the firm foundations on which this family run contracting business is built.
Established by the late John Hessin in 1978, Harold, Wilbert and the late Alan Hessin took over the baton from their father and they have earned a reputation as contractors their clients can trust. They run the contracting business in tandem with the family farm.
“We’ve increased the size of the farm down through the years by adding bits and pieces of land,” Harold Hessin – who has been permanent fixture on the family farm ever since leaving school in 1968 – explained to Irish Tractor & Agri.
“We operate a sizeable farm, we run a 1000 sow birth to bacon pig herd along with a 200 strong beef cattle herd. We also grow 850 acres of winter barley, winter wheat and spring barley which is all fed to the pigs.”
The Hessin brothers are assisted in the day-to-day running of the farm and the contracting business by Harold’s sons, David and Stephen, and his nephews, Andrew and Jonathan. In addition, they have four full-time employees while the services of part-time staff and sub-contractors are also deployed when necessary.
Their team enjoys a challenge and works diligently towards a successful outcome. The Hessins are known and well regarded for their ‘no nonsense’ approach to work. Simply put, they get on with the job with a minimum of fuss and a strong ‘can do’ attitude.
“From a contracting point of view, the biggest one we do is silage. We also do some ploughing and sowing along with a bit of umbilical slurry spreading slurry. We’re situated between Cookstown and Moneymore and cover a 15 mile radius.
“We’re lucky in that we have enjoyed a lot of support from our customers down through the years. They seem to be happy with the services we provide because they keep coming back to us! We actually gain some customers most years and the contracting business has been very busy in recent years. We’re out long hours whenever silage comes. We also do a small bit of combining and baling.”
Over the years, the Hessin family has invested heavily in the right equipment to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Their extensive fleet of tractors (nine John Deere and one New Holland) and associated machinery is regularly serviced and maintained.
“We run two Claas Harvesters, 970 and 940, a Claas Lexion 570 Combine, a Massey Ferguson Large Square Baler and several Kane trailers,” Harold revealed.
With a passion for machinery and significant experience and background in farming, they understand the importance of satisfying their customers needs.
“We pride ourselves on doing a good job and looking after our customers. For example, we had men away this morning at 4am to put in silage. It can be hard work at times but we wouldn’t be at it if we didn’t want to do it,” Harold added.
The Hessin family appreciate the fact that their customers have very demanding work schedules and that working with weather cycles can be difficult. Therefore, when you make an initial contact with them, no time is wasted getting to work. You can depend on them to meet those all-important deadlines.
Meanwhile, Brexit has contributed to a great deal of uncertainty within the agricultural sector in this island and beyond. As far as Harold is concerned, it may tum out to be positive thing from their point of view but like practically everyone else he’s adopting a wait-and-see approach.
“It’s very hard to say what is going to happen at this stage but, in my opinion, I think getting out of Europe will be a big plus for us. We’re in pigs a long number of years and, for a year before the referendum, pig prices were at rock bottom.
“They started to rise after the vote in favour of Brexit. I don’t know if that is as a result of Brexit but I’d be hopeful that we will see a sustainable future for the next generation. At this point in time, nobody knows what the future will bring at the end of the day.”
One thing for certain is that by utilising Hessin Bros’ services, farmers free up more time to concentrate on others areas of their farm and eliminate the need to invest large sums of money in equipment that they may only need a few times in a year.
Give Harold a call to find out more about their contracting services.
Hessin Bros
20 Ballyloughan Road
Moneymore
Magherafelt
BT45 7YB
Tel: 028-86762423
Mob:07711233890
Email: hessin0 [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 6, September 2017
