Difference Between Hay And Straw Uk

Straw is far less expensive than hay in our area selling for under 4 square bale.
Difference between hay and straw uk. Hay is a crop that is grown and harvested as a feed crop for cattle horses and. Both straw and hay often look similar and are even used for similar things. In fact ask a layman and they ll probably say that they are the same thing. Hay and straw are often both used as weed control mulch in the garden but the results you get can be quite different.
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. Difference between straw and hay straw is the dried stalks of cereals while hay is the dried grasses and legumes. These leaves are packed full of nutrients and easy for an animal to digest compared to the low quality stems left behind as straw. Usually straw is yellow or golden colored while quality hay is green in.
Since hay is more nutritious but more expensive we buy hay solely for the horses to eat. Straw on the other hand consists of the stalk seed coverings dried stems or leaves that have been separated from seeds. Straw also has a wide variety of uses for everything from a compost pile to an energy source. Hay can be used to feed animals where straw has many other purposes.
Straw is nutritionally poor than hay. Hay is grass that has been specially grown been mown and dried for use. They have other differences. So logically we use straw and hay for their intended purposes.
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 food for plant eating animals. Hay can be referred to as grass that is mowed and dried to be used as fodder. Key difference straw is dried stalks of grain that are left over after the grains have been harvested.