Harvest Report: Soft Timothy Hay

In 2019, we underwent a transformation in naming our Timothy Hay products. Shifting away from the traditional first cut, second cut, and third cut labels, we proudly introduced Coarse, Medium, and Soft Timothy.

Our aim was to ensure that every box of hay consistently meets your expectations. The previous naming system, although accurate, failed to capture the nuanced texture details that matter most. After a decade of using terms like soft, coarse, and leafy to convey hay textures, we realized the need for names that speak universally.

Soft Timothy hay can be harvested from the second or third cut depending on where it was grown and harvested.

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

Soft Timothy Hay should have these qualities:

Harvest: Second or third cut of pure Timothy Hay
Color: Described as hunter or deep green. Soft Timothy Hay should be noticeably darker green than Coarse or Medium Timothy Hay.
Stems/Stalks: The stems of Soft hay should be very thin, less than 1/32nd of an inch, if any at all. Generally when stems are found within  Soft Timothy Hay they are almost completely wrapped in leaves, making them appear thicker, but if you peel off the leaves you will find that they are very thin underneath. Any stems (stalks) that are present should be solid, almost ‘wiry’ in feel. 
Leaves: Soft Timothy Hay should be almost entirely leaves, at a glance it should look to just be leaves. Only upon closer inspection can you find a few seed heads and/or stems.
Seed Heads/Flowers: The seed heads, also called flowers, should be rare. But, if you do happen to find some they will either be underdeveloped and a bright light green in color, or they will be fully developed with purple wisps, generally no longer than 1-2 inches. Generally the seed heads  in Soft Timothy Hay should be few in number, if any. If the hay is from a second cut,you may find more than if the hay is from a third cut.

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 Soft Timothy Hay would have none of these.