QUALITY Why... How... Producing hay in the past was no easy task, but obtaining a high quality product was relatively simple compared to today. First and foremost farmers’ attentions were very focused on the alfa alfa. The reason for this was that this crop has always been the most important nutritional component, making livestock healthy and more productive. It wasn’t difficult to find 10 year old dairy cows that were still in production. Cutting at the right moment, (just before blossom) was essential in order to obtain the highest level in protein. Drying the product and “taking it home” as soon as possible was also a very important step in the process. This is exactly where the most significant changes have taken place today, while back then hay was harvested lose at humidity levels between 16 and 18%, today with the use of machinery, the hay is baled at very high density not allowing it to “breath”. This does not allow the hay to dry naturally and instead fermentation takes over, deteriorating its quality and in many cases making it toxic. In order to reduce this problem, it’s necessary to reduce the level of humidity on the field to 12 -13%. This is extremely difficult since the product would have to lay on the field for more days, increasing the risk of rain, losing coloration, and when bailing losing leafs due to an already very dry stem. Several roads have been taken to try to solve this problem, from the use of chemicals like propionic acid to delay fermentation, to the technique known as “haylage” in which the bales are wrapped with plastic at high levels of humidity, to induce anaerobic fermentation in order to conserve it better, others have simply abandoned hay production to buy form other producers in “weather friendly” areas. Yet all these roads have taken us further from hay’s true quality, especially the spreading of fermentation techniques that claim to improve the product. “The truth is fermentation will never improve hay quality.” In some areas where renowned cheese is produced, fermented hay is defined as a “Toxic Time Bomb” and therefore banned from the animals’ diet. (Feeding Roules Parmesan Cheese) Bottom line is that a quality alfa alfa cannot be compared to any other hay. We firmly believe that our machine makes it possible to obtain the quality of the past with today’s productive techniques. Our patented system is simple and effective. Two opposite flows of warm air go through the bale taking moisture out. It is then possible to bale hay at significantly higher humidity levels and complete the drying process with the machine. As a result we’ll have an intensely green product, full of leaves, without any type of fermentation, and absolutely no myco toxins. Welcome to the world of true quality.