Definately a better quallity cube than other brands. Let me tell you why: 1. The fields the hay/cubes comes from are monitored and attended by a company who believes in quality over quantity. 2. Other brands buy from various fields/states according to time of year and price, leaving your source UNKNOWN other than the "feed store" you bought from. 3. Safe: For all livestock. In my home; safe for my 2 Arabians I love fiercely. Can I say safer? Yes. Fields owned by Standlee are rotated correctly. Thier choice in round fields use less land, creating "breaks" between various grasses grown. Alfalfa, timothy, orchard. ect.. Much more "precise" in what you buy. 4. TESTING. They lab test all products they grow. (however,testing is every 5 years. I'd like yearly) 5. My horses, including a 29 yr Arabian can easily break the cubes. (remember I am using Alfalfa/Timothy cubes) If the ratio is correct, the cube itself will float in water. The ones that sink are more than 50% Alfalfa. too hard for my liking and I toss them (not happy about those, however, few and far between). 6. Winner by miles: less dust, foreign debris, and the most important? IF something foreign is found: YOU know the source. (This is NOT a free ticket for false allegation, it's solid for peace of mind, sound sleep at night, knowing your choosing better. 7. My horses choose Standlee over any other brand side by side-hands down. 100% every time.

I usually buy a 50lb bag of a competitor's cubes simply because I've been feeding them for a while and they're a good quality. I do, however, buy the Standlee pellets. Last week I noticed the Alfalfa/Timothy cubes at my local TSC and decided to give them a try, even though they're only 40lbs and more expensive. Tonight I opened the bags to pour into the cube bin, and to my disgust the cubes were VERY small fragments of cubes swimming in an ocean of hay chaff. The amount of dust that puffed up was insane. It reminded me of the horrible quality of the Standlee bagged bales -- 80% dust. Thankfully, I soak my cubes in warm water before feeding, so the dust won't be that big of an issue, but I'm thoroughly disgusted at the quality and will NOT be buying any more Standlee cubes from this point forward. I have attached photos of the cubes as they were poured out of the bag into the bin, along with a photo of a red bucket full of the competitor's cubes that I had left.