Buzz
The terms 'straw' and 'hay' are often confused, and it's understandable why—they both appear dry, grassy, and are commonly found on farms during the fall. However, they actually refer to distinct materials, and once you learn to recognize the difference, it's easy to distinguish between them.
Hay is made from grasses and some legumes, such as alfalfa, cultivated specifically for feeding animals. The entire plant is harvested, including the heads, leaves, and stems, then dried and stored in bales. It's the food livestock like cattle rely on when pasture is scarce or the weather is too cold for grazing. While most of us know hay as dry and yellow, good-quality hay has more of a greenish tint.
The key distinction between straw and hay is that straw is a byproduct of crops, not the crop itself. After a plant like wheat or barley has had its seeds or grains removed, the remaining stalk is sometimes preserved and dried to create straw. This part of the plant is low in nutrients, which makes it unsuitable as animal feed. However, throughout history, farmers have discovered various uses for straw, including weaving baskets, creating thatched roofs, and filling mattresses.
Straw is often used to decorate pumpkin patches today. It's easy to recognize (if it's being used in a way that would be wasteful as food, it's likely straw), but even farms themselves can mix up the two terms. For example, every hayride you've ever been on was probably a straw-ride instead.
