Are they seriously burning round bales that could be used for feed for heating?
The comments flip flop a lot, some say it's useless for feed but it kinda looks ok.
But even if it was used for something else, to change over to burning it is concerning.
Straw can't be used for feeding animals. It's low nitrogen, high carbon/cellulose. Some houses are built out of straw, not hay for a reason...
It's straw. You can tell because it is yellow.
It's inedible.
Hay = Preserved food for animals. Made from whole grasses and legumes. Hay is green/brown.
Straw = not food. Made from the stalks (waste product) of wheat, barley, rice, etc. Use for livestock bedding, insulation, construction material, mulch. Or burned like wood. Usually yellow.
Entirely different product. Only thing they have in common is that they both come in the form of bales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9rZzgkq2OQ (straw)
https://www.wattagnet.com/articles/1876-growers-build-a-hay-... (hay)
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/burning-hay-for-... (hay)
Well. It's a thing.
edit: ooooh, there's a difference between straw and hay !
Propane bills generally run about $30-60k for a decent sized operation, whereas if you burn bales (especially in something designed for it), it'll run you about 25-40% of that, depending on the year and price of straw.
It's a cheap source of likely locally available fuel.
It's straw.