64 | ‘Quality and pace of work’ key to success Kelly Deeks Andy Hey’s intimate knowledge of the dairy and contracting industries stands his business Hey Harvesting in good stead to meet the needs of its customers, as he works around the weather to get their planting, harvesting, and baling done within the ideal window, no matter how small. Hey Harvesting is based on Andy and Rebecca Hey’s 100ha, 200 cow dairy farm near Stratford in Central Taranaki. It is the farm where Andy grew up and has been in the family since the 1930s. Andy is the third generation of his family to own the property, and he has grown up with a determination to succeed in business and in farming. Andy started Hey Harvesting in 2004 with two John Deere machines and no customers. Through word of mouth he gained new customers and built the business up, and today he runs a large eet of machines and a team of six permanent staff. Hey Harvesting still welcomes a number of new clients every season. Hey Harvesting provides a range of on-farm services including small-seed planting, maize and cereal crop harvesting, and silage and hay-baling for a customer base of more than 95% dairy farmers. In addition, the business runs a quarry which supplies metal for housing development, forestry roads, and farm raceway construction. “The quality and pace of the work we provide are key to success in this industry,” Andy says. “Being on time and having good communication are also essential factors. Once we’ve had a client for a couple of seasons we know what they expect, so with our new clients we work hard to understand their farms and their systems, and how involved with us they want to be.” RURAL SERVICES » Hey Harvesting Hey Harvesting always works around the weather, going to where the ne weather is and tting in as much work in that location as possible to avoid backtracking. This season has been particularly challenging with wet and dry periods cycling regularly. “It gives you a shorter window but with our years of experience and knowledge of the industry and the area, we are able to make it work as best we can.” Like most industries at the moment, and most parts of the world, New Zealand agricultural contractors are struggling to ll positions, and Hey Harvesting is no exception. Andy says it is hard to nd people for casual work. His full-time key staff are the ones who have to pick up the slack, and they are so important to the business. “The way immigration was handled in the last couple of years hasn’t helped with the ow of overseas people to ll the gaps in the season, but there’s more to the labour shortage than that. There is also a shortage of young people coming into the industry.” Hey Harvesting has brought Andy’s son Kobie into the industry and he has worked in the business for the past three years. Kobie is somewhat selftrained, having been involved in the business since he was small, and has developed a real passion for machinery, technology, and making sure the job is done to a high standard. As a younger adult, Kobie is more au fait with a greater breadth of technologies than his dad, and this is really helping Hey Harvesting to maximise its precision ag offering and its productivity. Hey Harvesting provides a range of on-farm services including small-seed planting, maize and cereal crop harvesting, and silage and hay-baling. • Drainage • SiteWork • Culverts&Underpasses • E uent Ponds • General Earthmoving • 3DGpsEarthmoving 027 727 7163 baylys@hotmail.co.nz
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