Cereal crop straw is the leading non-wood fibre on the planet (forty-seven percent of global non-wood production). Wheat, rye, barley, oats and rice offer a large straw supply and supplemental income for farmers in the production of low grade paper.
Straw has good printing qualities despite its short fibre length, which resembles hardwoods more than pines. Drawbacks include high silica content, low cellulose, weak fibres and high transport costs compared to value. Straw pulps are always mixed with other fibers. Straw is a feedstock for paper pulp, straw-bale houses, agriboards, feed supplements, compost, "log" pellets and chemicals manufacturing. Farmers cannot all their straw without risking lowered soil fertility or erosion. New genetic short-stemmed wheat varieties have hurt the market for straw pulps and agriboard.
China and India are leading recyclers of cereal straw. Cornstalks comprise thirty percent of all plant waste fibre in the USA; 90 percent remains to be ploughed back into the soil and to control erosion, or is burned to clear the fields.