College Buddies Have Farmed Together 60 Years

In the fall of 1960, Gil Tinsey was a senior at Michigan State University (MSU) and Fred Hasen was a junior. They met as members of the Farmhouse Fraternity, which led to a lifetime friendship and a working relationship generally seen only between brothers: 

The two have been farming together for more than 60 years.

Tinsey, who majored in agricultural mechanization, grew up in the Thumb of Michigan, a stone’s throw from Lake Huron, near Port Austin. Hasen, a dairy major, grew up three hours south of Tinsey in Monroe County, Michigan, near Toledo, Ohio.

They both wed during college: Tinsey to Cathy, and Hasen to Pat. The four enjoyed spending time together, and the two wives became fast friends.

Hasen, who was in the ROTC program, spent two years on active Army duty after college. When he returned home in 1964, “It was pretty evident that if I wanted to farm, that was not the place to stay,” he said. “Toledo was spreading out, so I told my father, ‘I’m going looking.’ And he said, ‘Make sure you get two houses, because I’m not staying here.’”

The Tinseys visited the Hasens when Fred returned from the Army. Upon hearing his friend was considering a change of location, Tinsey suggested he come to the Thumb. 

“I had never been up here but I was very impressed,” Hasen said, with a laugh. “I found a place [near Port Hope], and I tell folks it was one of the few smart things I’ve done.” True to their word, his parents joined their only child and his bride.

Tinsey had partnered with his father on the family dairy, but after experiencing health problems, the senior Tinsey sold his share to Hasen.

Joining Forces

The new partners started their business, merging Tinsey’s registered Brown Swiss herd with Hasen’s Jerseys. “The Brown Swiss are so much bigger than the Jerseys that they gave them a pretty tough time,” Tinsey said. “We fished a lot of Jerseys out of the feed bunk over the years.” Eventually, they added Holsteins. 

Row crops were always part of the equation, and for decades the pair have been adding organic matter using manure-fertilized cover crops. The duo also started a seed dealership in the 1970s, which is still active.

The partnership allowed Tinsey and Hasen to alternate taking weekends off in winter, a rare luxury for dairy farmers, especially then. “We were milking 125 cows through an old stanchion setup which was getting kind of antiquated, but it worked and we didn’t have a lot invested in it,” Tinsey said. They also had two employees, including one who has been with them for more than 50 years.

Hasen has enjoyed visiting a large dairy nearby and said it’s interesting to see the advancements. That farmer milks 100 cows every 7½ minutes, a task that once took them about 2 hours. 

The partners milked cows until 1987, when they enrolled in the Dairy Termination Program, a government dairy herd buyout. They then shifted their operation to hogs and raising feeder steers.

Hasen and Tinsey have a shared appreciation for technology, and credit its use in their field equipment as one of the reasons for the longevity of T&H Farms.

Not Done Yet

Today things look different for the duo. Tinsey and Hasen are widowers. They are out of the livestock business but continue to grow corn, soybeans, and soft white wheat. “We might as well call it retired because there’s a lot less physical work than when we had the livestock,” Hasen said.

“We work pretty hard in spring and fall, but at least we get a break,” Tinsey adds.

To protect their legacy the two farmers have worked with agricultural attorney John Schwarz on their estate plan. They split up land they purchased together and revised outdated documents. 

Hasen’s three children and Tinsey’s two have always been supportive. “The kids seem to think Gil and I have been proactive and appreciate that we have things under control,” Hasen said. “We didn’t want to just throw that on our kids, and we didn’t want any conflict.”

Over their 60 years farming together, Hasen and Tinsey haven’t agreed on everything, but they say they’ve rarely argued. “Ever since we’ve known each other, we’ve respected one another,” Hasen said, “and if we have something we disagree on, we just talk it out and arrive at a solution that seems suitable.” 

Tinsey said it helps that they knew each other for six years before they started working together. 

His advice to anyone in a business partnership: “If you have an issue, just try to solve it right away. You don’t want to let those things hang on and hang on because they just get worse. And number one, as far as I’m concerned, you need to enjoy what you’re doing. I think that’s the secret to the whole thing.”