THE HARVEST
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from growing grain, it’s that there’s no such thing as an “average” year. Every season is its own story—written in weather, soil, and a little bit of grit. This year was no different. Or maybe it was verydifferent. That’s farming.
We’ve been growing wheat naturally here at Ruthies Farm since 2017, along with beans, buckwheat,oats, and various cover crops. Our go to wheat crop for sure is the Hard Red Winter varieties. We like it for a few reasons. It’s hardy, reliable, and well-suited to our region, and bakers love it. We sow it in October, giving it a head start before the winter. It goes dormant under the snow, sleeping through the cold months until the first hints of spring.
Around February, we broadcast clover seed across those same fields—a method called freeze seeding. As the ground thaws, the clover wakes up too, creating a living mulch that outcompetes weeds and returns precious nitrogen to the soil. By the time the wheat pushes back up, it’s already got good company.
We usually harvest in early to mid-July. But this year, Mother Nature had other plans.
We saw unusual weather patterns this season—more rain than usual and wild temperature swings. Yet despite the turbulence, our grain held on. Wheat can be surprisingly resilient. But timing is everything. Just as we were preparing to harvest, the skies opened up again. The grain was ready, but too wet to bring in.
We pulled in our first test harvest—about 1,000 lbs—and sure enough, the moisture content was too high. And since we don’t yet own a grain dryer (a big investment for a small operation), we had to get creative.
So, on a clear, dry day, we spread the wheat out across a giant tarp in the sun, right on our driveway. Old-school, but it worked. The sun and air did their job, and our moisture tester confirmed it—we saved the grain.
We returned to the field and harvested the rest on July 23rd. Some of the wheat berries had shrunk slightly from sitting longer—a little like raisins in the sun—but they were fully dry and good to go.
We learned a lot this season. It was the first time we’ve had to deal with wet grain, and we count ourselves lucky that it hadn’t happened sooner. Farming is such a tricky business - one of the most important components of successful growing is the weather, and thats the one thing we can not control.
But now, because of our successful growth and our community's support, we are able to invest in larger cleaning and drying systems — and we are investing in both for the seasons ahead. Farming will humble you, but it also teaches you. Ingenuity is the norm, and we’re here for all of it.
This is the art of small-scale farming. Ruthie’s farm, where this grain was grown, is a beautiful example of what it takes to grow well at a small scale. They use a pull-behind combine—a machine that’s not made anymore .But is perfectly scaled for a small farm, and is much simpler to maintain than the self propelled combines. Part of the challenge for farms like Ruthie’s is that most modern equipment is built for mega operations.
Fortunately, being near Amish country, we have access to older equipment. And the scale and functionality of the older equipment is much better suited for small scale farming. But it takes knowledge and know-how on how to restore which thankfully we have in our community, but truly a new industry is needed - and its happening in small ways, to design and build modern equipment specifically for the small scale farmer. From our research Japan is furthest along in this development, and California has a lot of interesting ideas in the works. But this is what it takes to restore an previous economy and practice. We are in the learning curve, just like every small grower before us. It’s a rite of passage.
At Marksboro Mills, we’re more than a mill, and more than a farm. We’re part of a living food system that includes the grower, the miller, the baker—and most importantly, you, our community. And here, you can see all of that happening in one place. That connection isn’t just poetic. It’s powerful.
Here’s to a happy harvest and many more to come!