Hay Grading



Grading hay is the process of forming an opinion based on an individual's judgement and experience. The challenge comes in communicating your opinion to others in a clear, relatable and consistent way. We have developed terminology along with a basis for the grading and categorization of hay for our markets in order to clearly as possible communicate the attributes of each product. Matching the correct product with the customer is the goal and delivering the correct product to the customer is the result.
FACTORS USED TO GRADE AND CLASSIFY HAY FOR HORSES
* Color * Composition * Bleaching * Brown, Red, Tan leaf Present * Fiber Length * Odor or Smell (Nose) * Plant Maturity * Texture* Weeds Present



our HORSE Hay Grades Using Timothy as an example



01



High Premium



Visually a perfect product with a vibrant color, excellent nose, no bleaching, no brown leaf, no weeds present and has long fiber. Abundant pre or in-bloom full timothy heads. Conditions for harvest of this grade do not occur every year. ​



02



Premium



The same description as High Premium except it may have a trace of brown or red leaf (must look closely to observe) or other grasses present but not noticeable. ​



03



Low Premium



Same as the description for Premium except it may have a slight bleach (must look closely to observe) and/or visible brown leaf.



04



High Retail



Pre-bloom to mature timothy heads, easily visible brown, tan or red leaf, may have obvious presence of other grasses and has a good nose.



05



Retail



Mature or slightly ripe timothy heads, green color (maybe faded) with some bleaching, noticeable brown, tan, or red leaf and has a good nose. ​



06



Low Retail



Timothy heads are generally over ripe or shattered, some green color but obvious fading to a yellowed appearance, may have some weeds, still a good to neutral nose.



Guide to describing the content of mixed hay (using alfalfa and grass mix as an example)





Trace



Either the alfalfa or the grass is not clearly noticeable throughout the forage product.




Low



Either the alfalfa or the grass is not clearly dominate in the forage product.




Medium



Neither the alfalfa or the grass are clearly dominate over the other throughout the lot.



High



Either the alfalfa or the grass is obviously dominant over the other.



Contact in Canada ________________ Contact in the USA



Vic Klassen ........................................ Anthony Gravett
newhayvk@gmail.com ................................. anthony@albertahorsehay.com