Havegard Farm

In 1973 Richard Sheehy retired at age 50 to Washington Island to live fulltime on a farm named Havegard, a place he and his family had summered for many years. Along with his sons Rick, Kevin and Brian he formed a business, Havegard Farm, using the fields on “Garden Farm” to raise grain for the flour and cereal that they sold to bakers and grocery stores on the mainland.

As both Richard Sheehy and his father had worked for Quaker Oats, he was familiar with the milling business and knew that using salvaged machinery he could successfully run a similar operation on his island farm.

Selling birdfeed came later, his son Brian Sheehy recalled, but “took on a life of its own and eventually became the primary product.” The business grew to the point that Havegard and other island farms could not produce enough grain. After Havegard Farm began importing grain from the mainland only to ship it back again as a product, the business moved in 1981 to a new headquarters in Algoma using a building that had once housed the Farmer’s Co-op and now served as the birdfeed processing plant.

The Sheehy family no longer raised grain, but purchased from farmers in the Algoma area as well as from producers in the plains states. The Nyjer thistle seed is an overseas import.

In 1994 Havegard Farm opened the Havegard Birdfeed Outlet on Highway 42/57 at the south side of Sturgeon Bay; Brian Sheehy manages the outlet, the business’ only direct retail store. Havegard Farm is primarily a wholesale operation supplying birdfeed and specialty items to stores and independent distributors throughout the Midwest, along with certain items nationally.

“The shop is a venue for us to promote our products and develop a personal relationship with our customers,” Sheehy said. Because Door County is a tourist destination, visitors from all over the Midwest drive past the store. “People come in, we ask where they’re from, and we can direct them to a store near their home retailing Havegard products.”

The products at the store include a birdfeed mix with cherry juice, Nyjer thistle seed, finch mixes, safflower, sunflower, refillable thistle pouches, Best Nest Builders and all-cedar wooden feeders. In addition to the full line of Havegard birdfeed, the store stocks custom seeds Havegard doesn’t wholesale, along with hundreds of birdfeeders, birdbaths and other bird-related products.

Brian Sheehy manages the Havegard Birdfeed Outlet in Sturgeon Bay, a direct retail location for the family-operated Havegard Farm wholesale business.

Two of the items sold in the store are produced in Algoma by East Shore Industries, a workshop for handicapped employees. Best Nest Builders is created from unrefined cotton, a material that homeowners place outside for birds to use in seasonal nest building. The refillable Nyjer thistle pouch, one of the store’s best-selling products, is a pre-filled cloth feeder that can be hung outside for birds.

“Feeding birds is a larger hobby in this country than people realize,” Sheehy said, estimating that between 25 and 35 percent of the population puts out food for their feathered visitors. “And Door County is a wonderful birding area,” he added.

One of the reasons for the popularity of feeding birds, Sheehy said, is the fact that people can approach the activity with varying degrees of commitment, “as plain and simple as you like, or as elaborate.” Birds are content with an improvised feeder from a recycled plastic milk container, or they enjoy finely crafted feeders along with gardens and landscapes planned with birds in mind.

Basically there are three important factors involved in attracting birds, he noted: food, water, and shelter.

“Having birds in your lawn is like having pets,” Sheehy said, “but without the inconvenience!”

During the 16 years of the Havegard Bird Feed Outlet, Sheehy has gained knowledge of birding partly by “osmosis, learning from my customers,” and through research about birds’ preferences for food and feeders. “But I’m not a naturalist or an ornithologist,” he said. “Roy Lukes is a big inspiration to us. We’re avid readers of his column.”

All three brothers and their father are involved in the business. While Brian Sheehy operates the retail store, Kevin is general manager and Rick handles production for the Algoma processing plant; the brothers are partners in Havegard Farm. Richard Sheehy maintains a home on Washington Island, and while he spends part of his winter in a warmer climate, he continues to serve as a consultant for the business and helps out from time to time in Algoma.

Havegard has become a recognized name brand for birdseed in the Midwest. Those who want to check out the retail store at 6757 Highway 42/57 will find it open from 9 am – 5 pm, Monday through Saturday.