At Providence Organic Farm & CSA in northern Michigan’s Antrim County, an ancient relationship is still alive and well: the relationship between a man, his dog and his sheep.
It all started when Ryan Romeyn, who co-owns and operates the farm with his wife, Andrea, decided to get a pet border collie.
“And you can’t have a border collie without sheep,” joked Andrea.
Romeyn began training years ago with his first sheepdog, Blue, and quickly caught the shepherding bug. He studied DVDs of Scottish and English shepherding techniques, and both he and Blue learned quickly. His working crew has since grown — he now herds with two more dogs, Lass and her pup Wren.
Romeyn performs shepherding demonstrations across northern Michigan. From “lie down!” to “That'll do,” familiar phrases spoken by people to their pets take on a new intonation and meaning when spoken with a working dog — and reveal some of the very real ways humans can observe and heed natural patterns and instincts in the world around us.
This story was produced as part of the Transom Story Workshop hosted by Interlochen Public Radio in August of 2025.
