Review of Standlee Premium Bagged Forage Products

Maggie and Elvis in the new pasture growth

Hay is for horses... and cows, apparently.  We were offered the chance to try out samples of Standlee Premium Forage Products, available at our local feed store, and we originally intended to test it out on our horses.  We did, and thankfully, the hay got them through some pretty lean times when the rest of the winter hay was looking scarce (and the horses really needed to put on a few pounds.)  It's hard to find good forage for sale during the last few weeks before the pasture comes to life again!

What we didn't expect, however, is that this was the same brand of bagged hay products that we had been giving our Dexter Miniature Cattle couple for the past 2 seasons.  We had provided Maggie and Elvis (our cow/bull couple) with Hay Cubes in between winter hay deliveries or when the pasture needed time to recover.  We hadn't realized that we were already using some of the best hay products on the market!

Raven fattens up a bit after a long winter

The Standlee products came in sturdy, water-resistant, 40 pound bags.  Depending on your animal's feeding needs, one bag per animal can last a week or more.  The products that were available for us to buy from our local store included the mini cubes, pellets, and Timothy Grass.  There is no difference in the quality between products, but your animal's preferences and eating habits may benefit from using one over the other.  You'll also want to be certain to follow the feeding directions on the packaging if your animal is not used to eating hay products from a bag.  They can overdo it, because there is so much nutrition and product in each bite!

Our animals were so happy to have this product every morning.  We still had hay on hand from the fall, but they were really craving something a bit more flavorful and rich.  If you find yourself without access to good grazing pasture (either due to a drought, like we had last year, or needing to let your pasture rest), I can't recommend this product enough.  It's the only one of its kind that our local store carries, and I'm happy that my cows and horses can be happy -- even when hay is scarce!

We are fortunate to have our pasture at full potential, so we likely won't be needing to have more than a couple bags of a product like this on hand.  It's a good thing to keep in case of an emergency, however.  You don't want to let your farm friends go hungry!

Read more about Standlee's entire line of premium forage products at their website!  The new website promises a better user experience with extensive information and tools available to help owners customize an ideal feeding regimen for their horses, including a forage finder that helps users quickly learn useful information about available forage type and form options. There is also a feed calculator to help users to determine how much to feed their horses!

*Samples of hay products received to review.  Cow and horse opinions are 100% their own.