WACO, Texas — After months of scorching temperatures and limited rainfall across Central Texas, local hay suppliers are seeing an unusual mix of increased need and slower-than-expected sales.
At Miller Hay and Feed in Lacy Lakeview, livestock owners continue to rely on hay as pastures dry out and natural grazing becomes scarce. But despite drought conditions that typically boost demand, business has not rebounded as quickly as some expected.
"We had a wet winter and now an extremely dry summer. What are we kind of seeing with hay sales right now?" I asked Miller Hay and Feed Office Manager Paige Johnston.
Johnston said the market is still feeling the effects of last year's abundant hay supply.
"Due to a lot of the hangover from last year's hay surplus, we are now starting to see where hay sales are picking up due to the drought cutting back on, of course, everybody's grass burning up," Johnston said.
As dry conditions continue across much of Texas, livestock owners are turning to hay to supplement their animals' diets. However, Johnston said sales remain lower than anticipated because many producers have reduced the size of their herds.
"A lot of people have sold down on their herd sizes, so now we're starting to see where it's starting to pick up, but not at the pace we were thinking," Johnston said.
According to Johnston, rising cattle prices have prompted some ranchers to sell animals rather than absorb the growing costs associated with feeding and maintaining larger herds. With fewer animals in the area, demand for hay has not increased as dramatically as drought conditions alone might suggest.
Still, Johnston remains optimistic about the months ahead.
"Even if it is a wet year, wet winter this year, we're going to hopefully see some spike in sales due to the drought and everything coming up leading up to this winter," she said.
As producers prepare for the colder months, hay suppliers will be watching both weather patterns and livestock trends closely. Johnston said a return to more stable conditions could help strengthen the market.
"Hopefully everybody can start getting back into the cattle game. The sheep and goat game is real big as well, and they will also need to have hay," Johnston said.
The Texas Farm Bureau has reported that high daytime temperatures and warm overnight conditions this summer prevented cattle from cooling off properly. The heat stress reduced feed intake and, in some cases, cut milk production by as much as 50%, creating additional challenges for livestock producers already dealing with drought conditions.
For now, local hay suppliers are hopeful that a combination of improved weather and renewed herd growth will help drive stronger sales heading into winter.
This story was originally reported on air by journalist Alexa Conroy and has been adapted into a digital article format with the assistance of AI. All reporting, interviews and editorial content were gathered and produced by the journalist.
