In 1978 its two major paper factories used around 47,000 tons of rice straw. Apart from the small quantity of straw used for the feeding and bedding of cattle and buffaloes, most of the straw produced in Sri Lanka is either ploughed in or burned directly on the field. Burning adds a considerable amount of ash to the soil and improves its fertility. Cereal straws are often used for thatching houses in Asian countries. Straw is also a good packing material.
Many farmers use straw and stubble as a mulch.
Estimated by subtraction. Agricultural by-products are in general poor in nutritive value because of poor and resultant low intake, digestibility although they are used as energy feeds. Both these components play an important role in reducing the digestibility of straw. The crude protein content of rice straw is generally between 3 and 5 per cent of the dry matter. Any crop residue with less than 8 per cent crude protein is considered inadequate as a livestock feed because it is unlikely that such residues, without supplementation, could sustain nitrogen balance in an animal.