I don't know that one exists. Really unless wheat is infested with bindweed it probably won't be sprayed with herbicide once it is starts heading out.

I would look for straw on craigslist and simply ask if they had sprayed it with herbicide if you are worried about residual.

Grogg's Green barn in Tulsa (I know, that's a trip!) sold them last year, but apparently straw is hard to come by this year? She said her farmer was still planning to deliver them sometime this spring. I am also going to try straw bale gardening this year for the first time since Bermuda grass does my garden in by the end of the season. I am having to settle for local oat straw and hope they haven't sprayed it with all that crap either.

Let's clarify something here. Straw is the plant material that is left after the grain is harvested. In layman's terms it's the stuff that comes out of the back of a combine. The plant is already dead when it is harvested.

Hay is grass, wheat, oats, alfalfa, rye etc. that is harvested when the plant is still green and tender, making it much more palatable and nutritious for animals.

I frankly don't buy into this "organic" straw business. I suppose there might be some straw bales left from last summer in someone's barn somewhere, but it seems unlikely this time of year. Regardless, the odds of straw having any herbicides on it are quite low. I would also add that there are herbicides approved for "organic" crops.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=9874504b6f1025eb0e6b67cadf9d3b40&rgn=div6&view=text&node=7:3.1.1.9.32.7&idno=7#se7.3.205_1601

Even if wheat or oats were sprayed with a herbicide it would be before they start jointing or making a head. They would still be very green with just leaves. Those leaves shrivel up and die and don't usually get cut off by the combine during harvest. Making it almost impossible for them to end up in a straw bale.

Could there be hay with herbicide residual? Absolutely.

Just the two cents of someone whose father, grandfather and great-grandfathers were all farmers.

osuengineer, thanks for the clarification. I appreciate it. This forum is wonderful because of the many people who are so willing to share their knowledge. Anything you do to help people become more self-sufficient by raising food is a huge public service. And that goes for you, too, @okiedawn!

Yeah, I was relieved to hear this, since I'm trying straw bale gardening this year. Next question is, do they apply any pesticides that might remain on the straw.