Seed Award Spotlight: Three Dogs Seed Farm

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.

One of the notable recipients is Three Dogs Seed Farm, located in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Founded by Danielle “Dani” Fegan, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Three Dogs Seed Farm is committed to revitalizing Indigenous and heirloom seed varieties and providing the regional community with access to foods crucial for Anishinaabe communities. The farm also focuses on enhancing knowledge about sustainable agriculture through seedkeeping and educational initiatives, serving tribal communities and the broader eastern Upper Peninsula through various programs and workshops. With products ranging from diverse produce to carefully cultivated seeds, Three Dogs Seed Farm is a beacon of traditional agricultural practices and community empowerment.

Keep reading to learn more about Three Dogs Seed Farm and how their dedication to preserving cultural heritage through agriculture is nurturing a sustainable future for northern Michigan communities.

Name: Danielle (Dani)  Fegan 

Business Name: Three Dogs Seed Farm

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?               

Being selected as a Seed Award winner gives me so much hope that there is a growing recognition of the need and urgency to build regional seed and food network resilience. I am so grateful to see support for improving our local and regional food systems and doing so in a way that is respectful to people and the environment. This is a key moment in our business journey and will allow us to take the next steps to expand access to both healthy food options and locally adapted seed in our region.

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

Seed Award funding will immediately allow us to ramp up food production, processing, and storage and increase our capacity to grow and process seeds adapted to northern Michigan growing conditions. Our intent is that this will allow us to get more food to market and on the tables of our neighbors while also supporting the heart of what we do – growing and sharing seeds with our local community and growers across the upper Great Lakes region. Long-term, our hope is that increasing produce sales will allow us the financial resources to share more seeds and eliminate barriers to seed access.

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

Our intent is that we can serve as a local or regional seed source for growers in our region and that they can know that the seeds they’re planting were grown in a way that supported pollinators, the watershed, soil, and people. We believe that seedkeeping at local and regional levels offers opportunities to make seed available in a way that isn’t destructive to the environment or harmful to the health of growers. While we want to serve as an option for healthy, culturally relevant food for our communities, we also want to support other growers. Food and seed resilience requires a network and there are already many folks doing this work. We want to play our role and strengthen a broad and inclusive network of home gardeners, community seedkeepers, and other farmers working toward sustainable and resilient food systems in the Great Lakes region.

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

Seeds are amazing. What started out as a fascination with seed biology in an academic setting grew over time into a role that I felt compelled to take up within my community as a seedkeeper. There is a network of seedkeepers within this region that acknowledge the critical need to do this work. An understanding of where the vast majority of seed that you can pick up off the shelf comes from and an awareness of how that seed is grown and how the land where that seed is grown is treated, motivates me to grow in a way that reflects respectful and reciprocal relationships with the seeds, the land we grow on, those we share the land with (birds, bees, voles, foxes, etc.), and those downstream in the St. Marys River watershed. I owe a debt of gratitude to those that have shared their knowledge with me, including members of the Indigenous Seedkeepers Network. I’m motivated by those who have come before me and kept these seeds growing in a good way. I’m grateful that I get to take a turn in a long line of seedkeepers and share that responsibility. I hope I can share the joy that seedkeeping brings me with others.

Want to try fresh produce from Three Dogs Seed Farm or acquire seeds to grow your own? Visit their website to find their next farmer’s market appearance, workshop, or gathering. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram.