Moving from Switzerland to Canada in search of a more fulfilling farm life has challenges of its own, but when Matthias Siegrist’s dairy farming dreams didn’t become a reality, he had to channel his ambition into a different passion. What started out as an unexpected post-college job turned into Siegrist Harvesting Inc. in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Siegrist and his crew specialize in mowing, merging, chopping, trucking, packing, baling, tub grinding, silage bagging, and more. At last month’s Wisconsin Custom Operators annual meeting held in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Siegrist shared his origin story and how he has built the custom forage harvesting business to where it is today.
Change of plans
Born on his family’s dairy farm in Switzerland, Siegrist moved to Canada as a teenager. Relocating to a new country was his parents’ solution to farming with fewer government regulations and less competition from neighbors. But after Siegrist graduated from college, joining his father back on the dairy wasn’t an option, so he got a job with a local custom harvesting business.
The owner saw Siegrist’s potential and encouraged him to develop some business management skills. So, Siegrist started a log-splitting side hustle, filling his backyard and driveway with piles of stove wood and campfire bundles for sale. “Weeknights after work, or weekends when we had time, we would package 7,000 to 8,000 bags of wood per year,” he recalled. Three years later in 2018, he was approached about taking over the custom harvesting business and its three Claas choppers.
Siegrist was able to finance the equipment with a hard-earned bank loan, but by the time all the necessary paperwork was completed, it was already August. He had to hit the ground running at full speed to keep up with corn silage harvest.
“When we took over, the equipment was in fairly rough shape, but we saw an opportunity,” Siegrist said. “We saw the opportunity for growth. In eastern Ontario, there weren’t many custom operators around. If we could take on an established business and improve it, that was a start.”
Unfortunately, within the first few weeks of operation, Siegrist racked up over $100,000 in equipment damage. “That was our forecasted repair bill for the entire upcoming year,” he said. “We knew things needed to change, and we needed to do more of our own maintenance.”
In order to accomplish that, Siegrist needed better connections and more skilled labor. So, he started attending farm shows, setting up a booth for Siegrist Harvesting Inc., and networking with suppliers, dealerships, and prospective employees.
He was able to add more employees and equipment to the business, diversifying his services to be more integrated and efficient. For example, when it became too difficult to coordinate schedules with his custom silage bagging counterpart, Siegrist took matters into his own hands and bought his own bagger.
“We were relying on too many other guys,” he said. “If we wanted to start a job at 5 o’clock in the evening, it was always an issue. So, we went out of our way and got our own equipment. Now, we can start jobs whenever we want.”
Making it work
Yet another setback in the early days of Siegrist Harvesting Inc. was a series of drought conditions and winterkill incidents that nipped alfalfa yields in the bud. “We were picking up lawn clippings for the first three years in business,” Siegrist said. “We just barely scraped by until corn silage season, and then as soon as jobs were done, we were asking for paychecks because things were so tight.”
But Siegrist continued to forge ahead. More investments and lineup expansions have been justified by the cost savings of on-site maintenance and by buying used equipment. Now, he has five Claas choppers, but he still only runs three machines at a time and keeps the other two on hand for parts and expedited repairs.
“The key is to have backup,” Siegrist said. “We don’t have time for downtime.” One example of this happened last fall when he snapped a cutterhead drum. As soon as the breakdown occurred, Siegrist called his wife, Megan, and told her to meet him in the field with one of the backup choppers.
“By the time I had the head unhooked, blown off, and figured out what was going on, Megan was behind me with the other machine, and I could keep running,” he said. “We will fix things on a rainy day or in the evening, but in that moment, it’s more important to keep rolling. That’s how we have built our business; that’s how we continue to build trust in our customers.”
Doing jobs well — and in a timely fashion — is Siegrist’s main priority. He assesses standing crops and windrowed forage to determine when to chop or bale, and customers typically defer to his judgment. Thinking back to the limitations of his past life in Switzerland, Siegrist is grateful he was able to establish new roots in Canada. The chance to own a custom harvesting business there is far greater than what would have been possible if he never moved.
“If we were to stand in the center of Switzerland, we would touch the border on all sides in approximately 150 kilometers, which is approximately 100 miles. That is the circle of clients that we serve now,” Siegrist said.
Other enterprises
As he continues to diversify, Siegrist has added cornstalk chopping, dry manure spreading, straw baling, and tub grinding to his list of services. He has also started chopping winter cover crops like triticale and cereal rye for local dairy farms. Continuing to evolve and meet customers’ needs has kept the door open to better business relationships.
“You get to know your clients; you get to know their needs,” Siegrist said. “We started with 40 clients on our list that first year. We now visit 250 doorsteps in eastern Ontario.”
Siegrist Harvesting Inc. is operating at full capacity — and then some. Siegrist cited labor shortages and high employee turnover as some of his biggest challenges as a business owner. Even so, the commitment of his current crew isn’t lost on him.
“Things are still tight. We are growing on a budget,” he said. “But we have a great team; they put in a pile of hours every year. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
