… Robert McDonald owns Dancing Star Farms in Bedford County, where he grows Bloody Butcher corn and other non-GMO heirloom varietals. They’re harder to grow and to harvest, he says. That’s especially true of rye, which has a tendency to grow tall and fall over. McDonald planted two acres of Rosen on his farm in 2019, harvesting 4,000 pounds in 2020. He plans to get it state-certified so he can sell Rosen seeds to other farmers — maybe as soon as this year. How much he’ll grow in the future depends entirely on the demand, he says, but he’s seen success with the heirloom corn…

… Robert McDonald of Dancing Star Farms, who provides heirloom corn varieties to local distilleries and is also working with truly ancient grains such as emmer and einkorn, was the first farm recipient of Rosen. The 200-pound donation allowed him to plant two acres in October 2019, to be harvested in August 2020, which is expected to yield 2,000 pounds… “My farm plants it in a secluded area, without contamination of other rye species, to maintain its purity.” With the addition of the Rosen, despite yielding a third of the Danko variety, McDonald is confident of sparking interest in Rosen rye…

… Brewed exclusively for the [Omni Bedford Springs] resort, the Bedford Butcher Brew incorporates grain grown by Dancing Star [Farms] and malted by CNC, Heller’s homegrown hops and a four-month stay in one of Wigle’s bourbon barrels to produce a uniquely western Pennsylvania taste. The name comes from the hefty dose of Dancing Star’s bloody butcher corn, an heirloom variety that was once an important crop for farms throughout Appalachia, included in the grain bill…

… Approximately 4,000 pounds of Keystone Rosen rye was harvested in Imler, PA, by Robert McDonald on July 14, 2020…