Google pictures of hay and straw and you’ll surely be confused about which one is hay and which one is straw. Nearly anything that the livestock can eat as a growing plant can be harvested as hay. But this has been clearly identified by the California Straw builders Association, ‘Hays is for horses, straw is for houses’. What’s the difference between straw and hay? It is also likely that the local hay producers will have trouble getting hay to dry since everyone is having the same overly rainy season. Let’s start at the beginning. Poor quality hay can be because it was made really late in the life cycle of the plant.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'familyfarmlivestock_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_12',110,'0','0'])); Or the hay was cut at a good time but could not be harvested until it got rained on multiple times, which will wash out the color and lower nutritional value. That is definitely not the case. Both look similar so it’s easy to incorrectly interchange them. If your animals want to eat some of the straw it is okay, you don’t need to worry. • Usually Straw is yellow or golden colored while quality Hay is green in color. Straw is a stalk, usually a waste product of wheat, that's used as bedding for barnyard animals. Common grasses harvested for hay are orchard grass and timothy. Sometimes, at first glance, it can be hard to see the differences between the two! • Straw is the dried stalks of cereals while hay is the dried grasses and legumes. Then the left over stalks are baled up as straw. This hay vs straw thing is something that will come up pretty early in your journey with animals. Hay can be harvested and fed as a dry or wet feed. Loosely pack the straw in the shelter to the quarter or halfway point. The main purpose of straw is to be used as a bedding material for your stock. Plus: Mike speaks with Laura Palmer… HAY. Hay is basically an ideal plant as food for livestock but not all grasses can become food for these types of animals. To start with, let’s just consider that one of them (hay) is a food source, while the other (straw) is not. Either way, the hay is not top quality so it is usable alternative to straw. February 3, 2016, Elaine Dragonnette, Leave a comment. So true, but it makes some sense once we look into this a bit deeper. Mike McGrath reveals how one makes a nice mulch and the other is seed for un-intentional grain growers. Hay can be made in multiple cuttings, just like you would continue to cut your lawn throughout the year as it grows. Hay is typically more green and finer stems, straw is typically yellowish with much coarser stems. This is an easy fix, just give them some coarser hay than they are getting currently, like a nice first cutting of grass hay so they can chew on the hay and not the bedding! Straw is primarily livestock bedding. and updated on September 12, 2009, Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, Difference Between Wide Feet and Narrow Feet, Difference Between Oakley Fuel Cell and Gascan, Difference Between Vitamin D and Vitamin D3, Difference Between LCD and LED Televisions, Difference Between Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, Difference Between Civil War and Revolution. Straw also has a wide variety of uses, for everything from a compost pile to an energy source. However, I do have to admit to liking the look of a freshly bedded pen of straw, it is always light and so clean. It was very fine grass with tons and tons of seeds in it. It is important to know the difference and to understand their use across situations and benefit from their qualities. September 12, 2009 < http://www.differencebetween.net/object/difference-between-hay-and-straw/ >. Hay mandates a complete dry phase to avoid any moisture in it. Straw is used is animal bedding owing to its hollow nature that tends to be fluffy while cannot be used that ways. Using straw is one of the best ways to keep your animals comfortable and keep control of the manure. Straw is yellowish/brownish in color and is the stems only of a stalk of wheat (the wheat heads have been removed). The main difference between straw and hay is that hay is the actual product, whereas straw is a by-product that is leftover after its main purpose is done. Hay is food for plant-eating animals. Or do farmers like to keep dandelions out of livestock feed? On the other hand straw is dried, golden colored, primarily hollow stems of grain mainly used for bedding for the animals, weaving baskets etc. Hay is made for the animals to eat, since hay is just dried grasses or legumes (plants that put nitrogen into the soil like alfalfa). Manisha Kumar. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail, Written by : Manisha Kumar. Although I quickly learned that hay is food and straw is bedding, I just assumed that all hay was the same. With less nutrition value, it is not fed to animals very often. The main difference between dry hay and haylage is that after it is baled, it is then wrapped in an air tight plastic wrap. Summary: 1. But in comparison, straw bales are much lighter than that of hay. Like several other debates, the confusion between hay and straw is ongoing. • Categorized under Objects | Difference Between Hay and Straw. Straw is a related term of hay. Hay is usually dried grasses. The biggest difference between straw and hay is that straw is the byproduct of crops, not the crop itself. Straw is used for baskets etc. Hay is greenish in color and has small leaves attached to the stems. The stalk, now called straw since it has been separated from the grain, is either left in the field or baled up as straw. Some of the animals fancying hay include cattle, horses, goats, sheep and rabbits and is given where the pasture is insufficient. Key difference: Straw is dried stalks of grain that are left over after the grains have been harvested. That is the opposite of everything else that is in this article! ---Mary Beth in Spokane (Washington) Plus: Mike speaks with Laura Palmer, Director of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program. Hay is used to feed farm animals. Hay can be made in multiple cuttings, just like you would continue to cut your lawn throughout the year as it grows. A bale of hay and a bale of straw may look similar and may be found together in the same places, but they are very different. Hay is green. Blocks up to 12"X12"X6" for as cheap as a buck. Then today my husband came back from the feedstore with what they said was "coastal hay". Around here in a wet year when straw is hard to get baled, since it keeps getting rained on. How often does a dairy goat need to be... link to How Often Does A Goat Need To Be Milked? What a farmer feeds their animals has a direct result on their health, as well as the quality of any products they create. Or are they essentially the same thing? 2. ~ Rodents like to hang out in loose straw so be careful not to make a home for the little varmints. The lack of oxygen causes the pH to drop, preventing spoilage in spite of the high moisture levels. If you only remember one thing from this article here it is-hay is for the animals to eat, straw is for them to sit (and poop) on.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'familyfarmlivestock_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',104,'0','0'])); Hay is made for the animals to eat, since hay is just dried grasses or legumes (plants that put nitrogen into the soil like alfalfa). So, could any old dried weeds/grasses/wildflowers growing up in an untended parcel of land be considered straw inasmuch as hay is something more specific? Alfalfa, clover, and peanut are legume … The importance of a bedding material is to sequester all of the nutrients coming out of your animals, manure and urine.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'familyfarmlivestock_com-banner-1','ezslot_9',107,'0','0'])); These valuable nutrients are held in a stable form until you are able to use the manure pack as fertilizer for your pasture or garden. Hay is a specific type of grass or a mixture of different cut grass clumped altogether compared to the basic grass plant, which is a more general term in itself. Very often you would come across people who use the words straw and hay as synonymous with each other. It may contain legumes such as alfalfa or clovers as well. Hay is used to feed farm animals. But in comparison, straw bales are much lighter than that of hay. As it is a by-product it is much less nutritious than hay, which is why hay is more preferred as fodder, i.e. All small grain plants produce a stalk that can be baled up for straw. Straw is the stalks or stems of grains like wheat, barley, or oats after the grain has been harvested. Hay is geared toward being a nutrient-rich food for livestock, while straw is more often used for bedding instead of food. Straw, the dry leftover stalks from harvested crops, repels moisture, making it the best bedding for outdoor cat shelters. Introduction: Straw and hay are two very different agricultural products. The main example of wet hay is called haylage, which is a fermented hay. It is harvested fresh before seeding, and a type of legume. Soon after harvest of grains, straw is what usually remains after threshing. Although this isn't exactly common as there are better options for hay, and typically only done when in a severe shortage of other hay. food for livestock. Here's some links that may help: It is coarser than hay but can be eaten and digested by many ruminants but doesn't have a great deal of nutritional value. Haylage: What It Is And Why You Would Want To Use It, Hay is made from any of a variety of forages, Straw is made from the stalks of small grain plants, Straw has fiber but low nutritional value. A cutting is made each time the plants grow enough to be close to reaching maturity, since that is when the highest nutrition is available in the plant.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'familyfarmlivestock_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_6',105,'0','0'])); No matter what cutting the hay is or for that matter what forage is being cut the purpose of hay is that it will be eaten by your animals. Straw is a by-product of crops such as wheat or barley, golden in colour and mainly used as bedding for animals. Looks just like a straw broom, or hat. For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/KAQ3w. Is it hay or straw? They have other differences. Thinking about getting a dairy goat for the family milk supply? Q: What is the difference between hay and straw A: Hay is made from grass, which is cut and wilted before being baled. Hay legumes include alfalfa, clover and grasses such as timothy,… Straw is used for non-food purposes. Straw is actually a left over harvest from the growing of small grains like wheat, oats, rye or barley. DISCLOSURE: In order for me to pay my blogging expenses, I may receive monetary compensation for my endorsement and/or link to products mentioned on this blog. Sometimes farmers choose to use hay as bedding. This article will discuss the difference between hay and straw. Difference between Hay and Straw. If cut at the right stage in growth decent hay can be made from wheat plants. Straw being hollow tends to be fluffy, better absorbing hence makes ideal bedding. If you want to see the difference between hay and straw, here’s my video showing the specifics. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'familyfarmlivestock_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_14',111,'0','0'])); But as far as functionality goes, either will work as bedding for your stock. Straw results from harvested stalks of wheat, oats or even barley. Straw bales are lighter than that of hay bales. What? The Garden Conservancy allows access to Private gardens that would not otherwise be seen by the public. I guess dandelions might appear in something like this–are dandelion greens (and flowers) as nutritious for animals as for humans? What is the difference between straw and hay? Image detail for The Difference Between Straw And Hay: Title: The Difference Between Straw And Hay Date: November 05, 2019 Size: 66kB Resolution: 701px x 450px What’s the difference between straw and hay? Both Straw and Hay often look similar and are even used for similar things. Despite their resemblance, they are actually very different from each other. A small grain only produces straw when it grows to maturity and successfully produces a seed head, until then small grains are a forage crop! Other plants used for hay that are not grasses are alfalfa and clover, among many others.eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'familyfarmlivestock_com-box-4','ezslot_7',106,'0','0'])); Interestingly enough, some farmers will plant small grains and harvest them while they are still green to be used as hay or haylage (wet hay). Summary: If it is more than just a bite or two of the straw, just realize that they are probably wanting a bit more roughage in their diet. The biggest difference between the production of hay and straw is that hay is typically harvested before the plants make seed and are just growing leaves. Straw vs Hay: What is Straw? The Difference Between Straw and Hay. 1. Hay is a crop that is grown specifically for the purpose of creating hay, while straw is a byproduct of different kinds of crops. Hay is a nutritious forage that is harvested for livestock to eat, whereas straw is the stalks of small grains and is used as bedding for your livestock. What about the specifics here? There is no need to resubmit your comment. Straw is a by-product of the harvest, usually the stalks and stems of the cereal grains or grasses such as oats, barley, rye or wheat, which are harvested after the plants are dead, so straw is far drier and doesn’t smell nearly as good, although I think it does still have a nice, albeit it fainter, farm-y smell! Now, in the craft section at walmart they may have mini-bales of straw. Estimating The Value Of A Standing Hay Crop How To Establish A Fair Price For Standing Hay The Dismal Land & Livestock Report: 1st Crop Hay 2016 Free Images : Nature, Plant, Hay, Field, Farm, Meadow. Hence Hay is a mix of grasses like rye, timothy, brome, orchard amongst others which involves a process of cutting, curing, processing and storing. Popularly, alfalfa or clover which is cut, dried and used to feed farm animals is hay. Helpful Reply. Hay is legumes such as alfalfa and clover or grasses such as timothy, oat, fescue and bermuda. Also, hay bale is much heavier than a bale of straw. Haylage: What It Is And Why You Would Want To Use It is an article of mine that explains wet hay if you want to learn more. The picture at the beginning of the article shows some green stalks of wheat with the kernels of wheat at the top and some yellow wheat straw. The simple answer is usually one of two things: Unfortunately, sometimes the hay being made is of poor quality. The Difference Between Hay and Silage. Download Image. Cite How do you make hay? On the hay is food and straw, here ’ s Open days Program of... 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People who use the words straw and you ’ ll surely be confused about which one is straw harmful! This stuff they might call hay, which is cut, dried and to! Been mown and dried for use livestock owner, shopping for hay can be used as buck. Cut, dried and used to feed animals where straw has many other purposes it 's straw dried..
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