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Hay
Hay is a dried and cut form of grass type plants. Hay is often fed to livestock when pastures are not available.
Hay is made from two types of plants, grasses and legumes. Examples of grass hays are fescue, blue grass, orchard grass, timothy, and Bermuda grass.
Legume hays are made from leafy plants such as alfalfa, clover and lespadeza. Legumes are higher in protein than grass hays because they are able to fix nitrogen from the air into a form they can use.
The grasses or legumes are grown to a desirable height and maturity and then it is cut with a mower and allowed to dry. (Note: as the plant matures, it acquires more cellulose and the quality of the hay decreases). It is then raked into rows and picked up and put into either square or round bales. This makes for easy storage of the hay and it can be fed a few years after it was harvested.
Hay is mostly fed to cattle, horses, sheep and goats.