BUCKHORN CLIFFS

Garden and Livestock · Guide

Difference between straw and hay

Explains what hay and straw are made of, what each is used for, and a list of uses for straw around the homestead and garden.

Quick facts

Hay is
Food for ruminant and plant eating animals
Hay is made from
Grasses, legumes such as alfalfa and clover, or a mix
Straw is made from
  • Leftover hollow stems of wheat
  • rye
  • barley
Straw uses
  • Bedding
  • mulch
  • insulation
  • lawn seed cover
  • coop ground cover
Sold as
Round or rectangle bales

Both hay and straw serve a purpose on the homestead, ranch, farm, backyard garden, and beyond. What's the difference between straw and hay? Here is everything you need to know about straw and hay.

First, hay and straw are typically made available in bales. Bales of hay and straw come in round bales and rectangle bales for easier transport.

What is a bale of hay or straw?

A formed and compacted bundle tightly wrapped for transporting hay and straw more easily is called a bale. The size can range dramatically, from "pick it up and throw it in the back of your truck" to, "I'm going to need a tractor to move this thing".

Bales of Straw

What is the difference between straw and hay?

If you're not used to looking at it, a bale of hay and a bale of straw may look a lot alike and they're probably found inches apart at your local supply store. However, hay and straw serve very different purposes.

Hay is used as food for ruminant and plant eating animals.

Straw on the other hand is not incredibly edible and is used for non-food reasons. 

An easy way to remember is:

"Hay is for horses" - there, you got it; horses eat hay, not straw.

hay for horses

What is Hay made of?

farming for hay

Hay is made from grasses such as timothy, orchardgrass, and brome, from legumes such as alfalfa and clover, or a mix. It is cut before the plants fully mature, because feed value drops as seed heads and flowers form, and it is left in the field to dry. Then the summer sun does its job by drying everything out in preparation to become feed for animals. When the grass is nice and dry, it's typically baled in rectangular-shapes and used as feed over the winter.

Where did the expression heyday come from?

This expression has nothing to do with the hay you feed to animals. In fact, it's a germanic word (heyda) which is similar to hurrah! So now you know, hay is still for horses.

What is Straw made of?

Straw is a by-product of growing grain. In the case of straw, it's usually made from cereal grain grasses: wheat, rye, and barley. All of these cereal grains have been harvested for the grain-bearing seed head. The leftover hollow stems are what I call straw.

Natural use for Insulation

Similar to hay, straw is baled up into easier to transport, bales. 

What can straw be used for?

  • Insulating material
  • Bedding for animals
  • Covering for lawn seed
  • Mulching vegetable gardens
  • Ground cover in the chicken coop
  • Backstop for archery
  • Decoration
  • Garden compost (after use)

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

What is the difference between straw and hay?

Hay is food for ruminant and plant eating animals, made from dried grasses, legumes, or a mix. Straw is the leftover hollow stems of harvested cereal grains, is not very edible, and gets used for non-food jobs like bedding and mulch. Both are sold in round or rectangle bales and look alike at the store.

What is hay made of?

Hay is made from grasses such as timothy, orchardgrass, and brome, from legumes such as alfalfa and clover, or a mix. It is cut before the plants fully mature, because feed value drops as seed heads and flowers form, and it is left in the field to dry. Once dry, it is baled and used as animal feed over the winter.

What is straw made of?

Straw is a by-product of cereal grain grasses, usually wheat, rye and barley. After the grain-bearing seed heads are harvested, the leftover hollow stems are what gets baled up and sold as straw.

What can I use straw for?

Straw works as insulating material, animal bedding, a covering for lawn seed, mulch for vegetable gardens and ground cover in the chicken coop. It also serves as an archery backstop and decoration, and after use it can go into the garden compost.

Can I mulch a vegetable garden with straw?

Yes. Mulching vegetable gardens is one of the listed uses for straw, along with covering lawn seed and lining the chicken coop. Used straw can go into the garden compost afterward. Straw is the non-food bale, while hay is animal feed.

Do horses eat hay or straw?

Horses eat hay, not straw. Hay is dried grasses, legumes, or a mix grown as feed for ruminant and plant eating animals, while straw is leftover grain stems that are not very edible. The easy reminder is the saying: hay is for horses.

Keep going

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