Process
UNIQUE DRYING & RE-BALING
Because of the wet, cold climate in Northern Alberta, we have developed a unique process to re-bale the hay before shipping:
• unroll the round bales;
• reduce moisture content using a low-heating process;
• bale them into square bales for shipping.
Compared to other re-baling operations, our process allows for a longer fiber product, which reduces the amount of dust and waste from each bale.
VERIFICATION
Before Maple Timothy is shipped, the moisture level is verified at these four different production steps:
A) Harvest and baling (using a hay probe);
B) Receiving (using the microwave method);
C) Re-baling (using our probing machine);
D) Pressing (using our innovative scanning process).
Quality control
Only Timothy bales
are inspected using specially-designed machinery to ensure
• proper moisture,
• purity,
• consistency, and free of contaminants .
We check the hay at four control points to make sure it is free of mold and has a maximum shelf life.
MOISTURE CONTROL EQUIPMENT
Using specially-designed equipment and a two-step process built by Macay to eliminate human error, the bales are probed and scanned to ensure that the moisture content is 11% or less. The automated probe uses resistance to check the bale for moisture to a depth of 18’’ in 24 places. This gives much more information than the 3 to 5 probes that are usually done manually. The moisture-testing scanner uses radio waves that penetrate and scan the entire surface of the bale.
CONSISTENT PRODUCT GRADE
During the grading process, every load of Maple Timothy received and sent from the facility is scanned with a spectrometer to verify its color. This ensures that our customers get the same grade of hay every time.
FOOD SAFETY
All products can be traced back to the original field of production. That means customers can access the history of the field, farming practices, as well as more harvesting information.