How is the zakat calculated for wheat crops harvested as fodder (oats, straw, or hay) in the form of straw bales, given that these bales contain 70% fully ripened grain heads? Is the yield estimated and its zakat paid as grain, or is the produce sold and its price zakated as money, or is the number of straw bales counted and one-tenth of them given as zakat?

Wheat must be estimated while still in its ear when its ripeness becomes apparent. Zakat is obligatory on the wheat grain, not on its straw, because Zakat is only due on what is measurable and consumable as food. The time for estimation is when the fruit's ripeness becomes apparent, meaning its dryness, which makes it usable. So, if the ripeness of the grain in the ear becomes apparent, Zakat becomes obligatory on it. If its ripeness has not become apparent, there is no Zakat on it according to the majority of scholars. As for the Hanafis, they mandate Zakat on all produce from the earth, including straw if it is utilized.