Timothy

Canadian grown timothy, supplied by our Lethbridge facility, is recognized in the Asian markets as both a palatable and nutritious source of fibre. High quality fibre is considered the most effective way of achieving increased milk production.

Wilbur-Ellis meets the various and specific requirements of its customers by supplying bales in a variety of weights, packaging sizes, shipped in various maritime container types (standard or high cube) and container loads.

Careful inventory controls based on Stack Specific Tagging track the grade, source, and customer destination for all products, from field to container, ensuring the customer gets the product they have chosen. Samples of all exported timothy are retained by the Lethbridge facility as a quality assurance measure.

Wilbur-Ellis Co. begins to contract for timothy in early March, with the crop being seeded in mid-April to mid-May. Irrigation water is available the second week of May. Spraying for broad leaf weeds begins in May. Harvest begins in Southern Alberta, last week of June to first week of July. The central Alberta harvest is approximately three weeks later.

Grades of Timothy Hay

The grades are dependent on a variety of attributes including colour, stem size, head size which are affected by time of cut, weather and so forth. Wilbur-Ellis fieldmen are experts in grading the hay, and in working with suppliers to achieve the high quality our customers expect.

Grades supplied are:

• Supreme Horse
• Supreme Dairy
• Premium
• Choice
• Standard
• Utility
• Timothy/alphalfa Mix
• 2nd Cut

Timothy Hay Process (Lethbridge)

• Once the hay is purchased by the fieldman, the bales are marked with Wilbur-Ellis inventory identifiers and transported to the covered hay barns or tarped for later transport, ensuring quality is preserved.
• When the shipment is to be delivered, the specific stacks chosen by the customer during onsite visits or from samples supplied are transported from the storage barns to the compression facility.
• After being loaded on the feed table, bale ties are removed by hand before the 3' x 4' and 4' x 4' bales are sliced into 6 or 9 portions, providing additional opportunities for quality assurance inspections.
• This compression machine, supplied by 400hp hydraulic system, is computer controlled. Bales are weighed before and after compression to achieve the target weight with great accuracy. Our bales are an easy handling size.
• Once compressed, bales destined for overseas delivery are loaded onto containers for transportation by truck or rail to west coast ports, either in Los Angeles or Vancouver. Containers are loaded to weights that meet the highway regulations of the destination country.

Timothy Hay Bale Sizes

Container Loads are based on customer Highway regulations

Shipping containers are loaded to the correct weight for the highway regulations of the destination country, typically between 21 tonnes and 27 tonnes.

Timothy Hay Facts:

• timothy is a perennial bunchgrass with a three to five year productive lifespan
• timothy has a shallow root system and is best suited to climatic zones with 18 to 22 inches (45 to 55 cm) of annual precipitation
• timothy grows best in cool moist conditions that generally occur in the spring and early summer (daytime temperatures of 60 to 70° F)
• timothy has excellent winter hardiness, both as seedlings (providing the plant achieves a mature leaf) and as a mature crop
• timothy grows well on a wide range of soils and has some tolerance to flooding
• timothy grows best on well-drained, clay soils or clay loam soils
• timothy has some tolerance to acidity (pH range of 5.0 to 7.9), but is not suited to saline or alkaline soils
• a second cut is achievable on irrigated land in Southern Alberta