While referring to a cut of hay by the order in which it was harvested from the field (first, second, and third) is an accurate and precise way to reference it, it does nothing to describe the quality  and texture you want to buy. 

We have found over the last six years that we often used terms like soft, coarse, and leafy to accurately describe the texture of the hay to our customers. It got us thinking, what if we change the name to something everyone understands? 

What is Medium Timothy Hay Then?

Medium Timothy Hay is almost always harvested from the second cut. However, in the past we have inspected beautiful first cut hay that was on the softer-side of a first cut and had to reject it. Which is extremely silly as we know you would’ve loved it.

Moving forward we will provide you with the highest quality hay we can find that meets the standards for what Medium Timothy Hay should be, regardless if it’s from the second or first cut.

Medium Timothy Hay should have these qualities:

Harvest: Second or first cut of pure Timothy Hay

Color: Described as a hunter or true green.

Stems/Stalks: The stems of Medium Hay should be thin, less than 1/16th of an inch, however, an occasional thicker stem (stalk) is not uncommon. Most of the stems should be solid, almost wiry in feel. Medium Hay is softer than Coarse Timothy because of the lower number of stems and higher number of leaves. 

Leaves: Leaves should be broad and more than half the total amount of hay.

Seed Heads/Flowers: The seed heads, also called flowers, should be fully developed and will generally be between 1-2 inches long on average with small purple wisps. The seed heads of Medium Timothy should be noticeably shorter and smaller than Coarse Timothy, with fewer in number.

Our goal is to offer the highest quality hay, however, all naturally grown and harvested hay holds minor imperfections such as dust, weeds, leaf crush, and brown leaf. The ideal version of Medium Timothy Hay would have none of these.

October 2021 Medium Timothy Hay Report

The 2021 Ultra Premium Medium Timothy Hay we have in stock is currently a second cut. We hand-selected this batch because we knew it would be what you and your pet were looking for in a Medium Timothy Hay. This hay is a little Coarser than what we had in stock last year. This year is much more typical of what we expect out of our Medium Timothy.

Note: If your pet got used to our softer Timothy Hay that we had last year and you are concerned let us know and we can send you some samples of both.

Here is the report on what we have in stock:

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

Harvest: Second cut of pure Timothy Hay, it was harvested in September of 2021.

Location: Northern California

Color: Dark Mint Green

Stems/Stalks: Averaging 10-15 inches long in length and most are thin in diameter, smaller than 1/16th of an inch. We did occasionally find a thicker stem. 

Leaves: There are a high amount of leaves with the leaf length up to 8 inches. They are nice and broad looking.

Seed Heads/Flowers: Fully developed with fine purple blossoms, average length 2 inches in length. Most seed heads are short and small with the occasional larger seed head in the mix.

Leaf Crush: Minimal

Weeds: None

Brown Leaf: Almost none, the only reason this didn’t get a 10/10 was that I found a few small flecks of brown leaf. This is almost as good as it gets! 

Dust: None

Summary: This year's Medium Timothy Hay is a great example of what Medium Timothy Hay should be. As the hay is a little Coarser than what we had in stock last year, it's much more typical of what we expect out of our Medium Timothy. The only reason that it doesn't receive a 10/10 is the very few flecks of brown leaf scattered throughout.