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Hay vs straw: not the same thing

Farmers often get questions about what they are doing on their farm, or what they are going. Often, at Good in Every Grain we hear that #YourFarmers are asked what the difference between wheat and oats plants, or how tall does corn grow. Another common question is what the difference between hay and straw is.

Let’s dive into this question today:

Hay

Hay is a feed for farm animals like cattle, horses, sheep and goats. This is generally a green forage plant that is cut down, and baled or collected, which is then fed to farm animals through the year. It is made up of primarily alfalfa and timothy grass plants but can also be a mixture of immature plants like peas, oats or rye. The entirety of the plant is cut down and baled, and then consumed by livestock. Hay is taken off throughout the late spring, summer and early fall – depending on the farming operation and field.

Straw

Straw is the leftover plant parts of cereal grain plants after harvest that is baled or collected up to be used as bedding for far animals. Generally, this is the stalks and leaves of wheat and oat plants that is tossed out the back of the combine during harvest. The top of wheat and oat plants contains the seeds – that will be harvested to make food. The rest of the plant if left behind by the combine in the field, to be baled up and then used as livestock bedding. Straw is yellow, and you will see straw bales in fields after harvest in the summer and early fall.

Differences between hay and straw

There are a few differences between hay and straw!

  1. Colour: Hay is green, and straw is yellow. This is the easiest way to tell the difference between the two, especially if you are unfamiliar with the crops grown on farms!
  2. Time of year: Often, hay and straw are taken off in the summer- sometimes at the same time. But an easy way to tell the difference is to look at the tie of year. Straw won’t be baled in fields until wheat or oat harvest begins- mid to late summer. If you are seeing bales in field sin May or Jue, that is a good indication that is a hay crop.
  3. Equipment: Farmers will use some different equipment when harvesting their hay and/or straw crops. Straw will be cut down during wheat and oat harvest using a combine. Hay will be cut by hay cutting machines that in simple terms, are very similar to large lawn mowers.

This is a tractor and hay bine cutting down a field of hay for livestock feed.

This is a combine that will cut and separate the seeds off of grain plants. The leftover plant parts are used as straw.

Why do they get confused?

Here is where things get confusing – hay bales and straw bales can look the same aside from a difference in colour. Farmers can choose how they bale or collect the cut hay or straw. They use machines called balers that can either collect the hay or straw in small square bales shapes, large square bale shapes or large round bales shapes. Often, farmers will choose what size and shape of bales that work best for their fame- and often these are the same shape for hay and/or straw.

This is a round bale of hay.

This is a large square stack of straw bales.

This is a small square bale.

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