The central area of Gansu Province,which is a ‘grain-to-feed’ pilot,is an agro-pastoral ecotone with abundant crop straw resources and a large demand of herbivores for forage,therefore,the utilization of straw for feed is imperative.Based on the economic output of the main crops in the central region from 2012 to 2016,the grass-grain ratio and collectable coefficient method were used to estimate the amount of straw collected and utilized in central Gansu;the average daily feed intake of herbivores was used as the standard to measure the development potential of straw livestock-carrying.The results showed that the total amount of straw resources collected in central Gansu was 252.80 million tons,of which corn stalks accounted for 72.51%,the straw resources showed an increasing trend in the past 5 years;the actual carrying capacity of straws was 3.451 million sheep units,and the theoretical development potential was 5.771 million sheep units,the development potential of straw livestock-carrying industry is huge.