Cereal Straw. Straw of small grains, especially that of oats, bar- 

 ley, and wheat, may take the place of hay to a limited extent in 

 feeding farm animals. About one-third of the roughage is generally 

 fed to cattle in European countries, and one-half or more to horses. 

 This is either fed whole or chopped, the former as a rule to cattle 

 and the latter to horses, being fed wet and mixed with grain or 

 sliced roots. It does not appear that the nutritive effect of the ration 

 is reduced by substituting straw for common hay to this extent. 

 Fine bright oat straw has an approximately similar feeding value 

 to a medium quality of wild hay. Barley and spring wheat straw 

 rank next in feeding value. Other kinds of straw or poorer grades 

 of the cereal straws mentioned may be used for bedding after cattle 

 or sheep have picked it over. 



By chopping and feeding the straw wet, mixed with grain, roots, 

 or molasses, even coarse old straw may be utilized for stock feeding 

 and aid in reducing the amount of valuable hay required to keep 

 animals in good condition. In these days of high feed prices, it is 

 more than ever inexcusable to burn straw to get rid of it. By feeding 

 it to stock, as suggested, at least one-half a similar amount of hay may 

 be saved, and the full manurial value of the straw saved at the same 

 time. 



Rice Straw. With the growth of the rice industry in the state 

 during recent years, the proper utilization of the rice by-products 

 has become more important than formerly. Rice straw has a fair 

 feeding value, only slightly below that of oat and barley straw, and 

 may be fed to horses and cattle with good results, as a part of their 

 roughage. If fed as sole roughage, as is sometimes done, the allow- 

 ance of grain must be somewhat increased over the amount fed with 

 hay. Rice straw alone does not furnish sufficient nutriment for pro- 

 ductive purposes although it makes a good maintenance feed. Accord- 

 ing to reports received, it can also be successfully made into silage 

 if plenty of water is added as the cut mass goes into the silo. 



Legume Straw. Straw from leguminous crops, beans, peas, etc., 

 is somewhat higher in nutrients than cereal straw, but is generally 

 coarse-stemmed and less palatable to stock than the latter. Lima 

 bean straw is commonly fed to cows, horses, and sheep in the south 

 coastal counties of the state and is considered of nearly similar feeding 

 value as good grain hay or fair grades of alfalfa or clover hay. In 

 order to avoid waste in feeding, it is preferably run through a cutter 

 and either fed alone or mixed with feeds, like silage, sliced roots, or 

 concentrates. 



