OUR Quality Assurance
Ensuring quality for forage products on a yearly basis demands proven systems for traceability, safety, proper handling and more.
Sage Hill’s lengthy tenure in both farming and the hay export market have been crucial in the implementation of our current quality controls.
Our quality assurance protocols matched with the best practices of our growers give you a value added and safe forage product you can rely on no matter what animals your feeding.
DETERMINING QUALITY
Our passion is to source, press, and ship market worthy Alfalfa Hay and Timothy Hay (plus other straws and forage products). We realize that weather is an important part of making beautifully exportable hay and are continually working on diversifying our sourcing regions to buy and export hay, worthy of the Sage Hill name. Beginning here with our roots in Central Washington state down to our facility in Southern California and everywhere in between—we're establishing flexible and relationship driven hay sourcing channels.
In-field Inspection
Its where the magic begins, the excitement of the first inspection starts and where the bales take their first shape, right out there in the field.
Out in the field we get we can observe what the soil type is, how far back from the field the weeds are controlled, what the elevation and likely curing conditions would be like, etc.
Sampling
Getting our eyes and hands on each stack is a must. We go to the stack and many times see the hay before its baled or as it is growing. Once the hay is up we are anxious to inspect the final quality by a multi-point assessment. The hay buyer takes a core sample then cut sample and then we send the sample off to be NFTA tested. Each hay buyer at Sage Hill has been properly trained in the taking of an NFTA certified core sample and in the general practices of the proper hay sample handling.
Once the pre and post bale evaluations and core sampling process has been completed we then determine its proper quality classification. The protein levels, RFV and other important characteristics all play into whether the hay is a high, middle or low grade lot.
ENSURING SAFE FEED
Safe feed comes from safe practices at every point along the way. Working with our growers year-to-year gives us opportunities to do ongoing training in proper weed control, management, and elimination of any non -hay contamination,
Every lot of hay and field it came from is marked and quickly identifiable. If ever a concern or question should arise about any hay we have shipped you can rest assured our tracking system will narrow down the problem and where it likely arose from in an efficient manner.