Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye, and wheat. Straw is usually gathered and stored in a straw bale, which is a bale or bundle of straw tightly bound with twine, wire, or string. Straw bales may be square, rectangular, star-shaped, or round, and can be very large, depending on the type of baler used. Some key points about straw include:

• Composition: Straw is made of grain stalks, while hay is made of dried grass or legumes.

• Uses: Straw has a number of different uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching, basket making, and gardening. It is often used as warm bedding for animals, and can be spread on the ground as covering for lawn seed or for mulching vegetable gardens.

• Appearance: Straw is hollow and has a golden yellow color.

It is important to note that straw and hay are not interchangeable terms, and they have different uses. Hay is food for plant-eating animals, while straw is used for non-food purposes such as bedding, compost, mulch, and erosion control.