Seed Award Spotlight: Jere Farms

In our “Seed Award Spotlight” series, we asked the Fall 2024 Seed Award winners about their experience as a food or farm entrepreneur, including the passion behind their business, and their vision for positive change in their community. This January, 18 Seed Award winners were chosen to receive seed funding totaling almost $250,000. These grants represent not just financial investment, but an acknowledgment of the vital role farms and food distributors play in advancing Michigan’s food value chain.

Among these dedicated recipients is Jere Farms, a dynamic and innovative farm located in the serene town of Brimley, Michigan. Founded in 2013 by a hardworking couple, Jere Farms quickly evolved from a local supplier of meats and produce to a statewide distributor known for its commitment to sustainable and ethical farming practices. As they expanded their operations with additional hoop houses and a commercial kitchen, Jere Farms not only increased their capacity to meet growing demand but also enhanced their product offerings with value-added items like jams, salsas, and smoked meats, all made right on the farm.

Keep reading to learn more about Jere Farms and how their dedication to providing fresh, locally grown, and high-quality products is nurturing their community and setting a standard for agricultural excellence in Michigan.

Name: Dan Jere            
Business Name : Jere Farms  

What does being selected as a Seed Award winner mean to you personally, and how does it reflect on the journey of your business so far?               

It’s a great honor to be selected among so many hard-working farmers. We feel we have been putting in lots of great work to support our community and being able to provide fresh, organic, and locally grown produce to an area that has little options for its residents. As a small beginning farm we have worked diligently and endlessly at being able to bring produce to those that are not able or willing to come to the farm. All of our farmer’s markets are 1 hr drive away, and we are finding people willing to travel an additional 1 or 2 hours weekly to get produce, meats, eggs, honey, and syrup from us directly. Our willingness to travel and bring the largest selection of produce to these markets has always been our goal to reach as many people as we can.  This hard work has resulted in our need to keep expanding, growing, and improving our techniques and processes. Our greatest need is to improve our washing and packing systems by constructing a washing and packing building. This building will increase productivity to help us bring more products to market and eliminate running out, having cleaner and safer produce.            

In what ways will the Seed Award funding support your immediate and long-term business goals?

The funding will put us ahead of our self-funded plans. Funding and profitability are always difficult things in the produce business, especially in our low-income community. The funding is enough to push us to self-fund the rest of the construction to allow us to work more efficiently, minimize the wear and tear on the few employees we have, and allow us to get back to doing what we do best, and that is growing crops for our community. This funding and grants for small farms change the path for small farmers and help people like me to jump ahead by years, resulting in better products and quality of life. 

Can you share your vision for the positive changes this award will enable you to make in your business and the broader community?               

More products, cleaner and safer produce. We have been washing produce outside or just inside our farmstand. This will remove the public from our working areas, increasing food safety and customer safety. I mentioned before quality of life. As farmers in the summer growing produce the little things like walk-in coolers and a cooled washing and packing shed are game changers for the overall quality of product and life for a farmer like me.                  

What led you to start your business? What motivates you to do what you do?

When I moved to the Upper Peninsula, there were nearly no local produce growers. The selection was small and seasons short. We wanted to change that and offer more produce that was higher in quality and more available outside of our county.  60% of our gross produce sales are outside of Chippewa County to customers that would otherwise have little to no access to produce.  Doing it for the people in the community was a large factor, but doing something that I would love and work at endlessly and making whatever I wanted was just as important.

Want to try fresh produce or meats from Jere Farms? Visit their website to find their Brimley location or view online ordering options. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram.