Weatherbury Farm Grain Tracker
From Planting to Harvest, Danko Rye (Whole & Light Rye Flour) in the field:
Before planting the Danko Rye, the fields are plowed and harrowed. Harrowing smooths the field after plowing.
Danko Rye is planted in the fall of the year and harvested the next summer. This is because it needs to vernalize over the winter. If it were planted in the spring, no grain would develop and the field would look like grass.
Frost seeding clover into Danko Rye.
The clover suppresses weeds, aids in holding up the grain and, eventually provides nitrogen to the next crop.
Danko Rye in the spring. A close-up of the rye on the day when the farmers spin clover seed on the crop.
In less than 2 months the rye has grown from a tiny plant to a plant with the grain heads forming.
Weatherbury Farmers at work. Here you can seed the Danko Rye (lighter green) and the Milky Way Einkorn (darker green). The grain fields are planted in contour strips with hay fields in between. Contour fields are an important part of sustainable farming. They can reduce erosion by up to 50% and increase water infiltration.
You can see the rows of raked hay and at the very bottom, the hay being baled.
The Danko Rye is beginning to dry down.
Rye Flour in the field!
The Danko Rye has dried down and is almost ready for harvest.
A combine is used to harvest the rye.
When the Danko Rye is harvested, the rye grain is stored in the body of the combine. Straw, which comes out the back of the combine, is deposited back into field (to the left and behind the combine). The straw will be used either to bed animals or left in the field to increase the organic matter of the soil.
After the Danko Rye grain is harvested, it is unloaded into a gravity box to be taken back to the farm for storage.
At the farm, an aerator is placed in the wagon to bring down the moisture of the grain.
Danko Rye Facts 2024
Danko Rye Fields 2024
In 2024, Danko Rye was grown in Independence Township on three fields, totaling 5.655 acres on the farm known as “Pleasant View Farm.” This farm was established in 1824 by J.M Welsh. Welsh is listed in the Caldwell Atlas as a farmer, grain, stock and wool grower. The farm was dormant for many years; however since 2006, organic grains and hay were grown on this farm. Weatherbury Farm has farmed this land since 2017. The farm has been certified organic since 2006.
The rye was planted on October 19, 2023.
Clover was frost seeded into the grain on April 15, 2024. (The clover suppresses weeds, aids in holding up the grain and, eventually provides nitrogen to the next crop.)
The Danko Rye was harvested on July 6, 2024.
At the 2023 Washington County Fair, both the Rye sheaf and the jar of Rye grains won 1st place.
For an illustrated explanation of how Weatherbury grains become flour, visit the from seed to flour page.
About Danko Rye
Rye is the traditional bread for people from Germany east to Russia. Known as the rye belt, this is where most of the world’s rye is grown and consumed.
At Weatherbury Farm, we grow Danko Rye, which is a true milling-type rye with an interesting balance between spicy and bready. It is a favorite among beer makers and distillers; bakers, of course, love it to make authentic European-style rye breads.
Products Milled from Danko Rye
Danko Rye is milled into whole and sifted rye flour. None of the flours milled at Weatherbury Farm are bleached.
Health benefits of Rye
People have undervalued the benefits of rye for a long time. However, today many people are starting to use it for its numerous health benefits. It can help you lose weight, boost your metabolism, control your glucose levels (good for fighting diabetes), and has a heart-healthy fiber which lowers cholesterol levels.
More Information
Rye flour can be ordered either for our monthly on-farm pickup or you can have your order sent to you.
To read more about rye flour, please visit our products page.
More information on rye and other grains grown at Weatherbury Farm is on the grains we grow page.