In a normal summer, Trista Nelson’s herd of cattle spend their days grazing in a lush pasture. But this year, green grass was in short supply.
The land on her family’s cattle farm in southeast Ohio was so dry, they had to dip into their winter feed supply and give their animals hay instead.
“We did feed so much hay these past couple of months that a lot of producers, ourselves included, may not have enough hay to get through the winter,” Nelson said.
Without rain, her family wasn’t able to grow enough fresh hay to restock.
“We're used to getting a third cutting,” she said. “Well, [this year] you're barely getting enough to have a second cutting.”
The severity of Ohio’s drought
This summer’s drought in Ohio was the worst the state has seen since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began monitoring drought in 2000.
In many parts of the state, it’s ongoing. Even after remnants of Hurricane Helene swept through the region, more than 60% of the state remains in moderate to exceptional drought.
Swaths of Appalachian Ohio, including Morgan County where Nelson works, have been hit the hardest.
In addition to cattle farming, she’s also the district administrator for the Morgan Soil and Water Conservation District. The organization surveyed 77 local farmers — nearly all beef producers — and found that, like Nelson, all had to feed their cattle hay this summer.
Three-quarters of the farmers surveyed also had to haul water for their animals.
Most farms in the area have springs, ponds or creeks for cattle to drink from, Nelson said, but many have dried up. She and her family had to pump water from a nearby pond and transport it to the cow pasture.
“It's very stressful,” she said, especially after a long day of work. “You have to get home and get the chores done, and get everyone water, hay, everything, all in the day's time.”
But her family was lucky, she said.
“A lot of producers in the area are having to haul the water [from] 10, 15 miles away, if not farther, from a pumping station to their farm to supply the cattle with it,” she said. “I think there's a dairy farm in the county [where] that’s actually adding hours worth of work because they're having to make numerous trips to haul water, not only for their dairy cows, but also to the milking parlor.”
The impact on farmers
The added work takes a toll, not just on farmers’ time, but on their wallets. Nelson said the average farmer in Morgan County spent more than $4,300 during the months of June, July and August to feed and water their animals.
That’s money they normally don’t have to spend. And the cost will likely keep increasing.
If Nelson runs out of hay for her cows, she could have to travel a few hours — if not out of state — to get more.
Morgan County is one of 49 counties in the state now recognized as primary natural disaster areas because of the drought. The designation means farmers in the area are eligible for aid from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.
The federal support is helpful, Nelson said, but she’s pushing the state to step in too.
“Back in ‘99 the state was able to provide producers with money for hay and water,” she said. That’s what she believes farmers need now, as well.
Already, she’s hearing of people leaving agriculture because of the added stress.
“This was just the tipping point,” she said. “There’s [farmers] that just didn’t want the stress anymore of doing it because it was a hard time. So they’re just selling out.”
But even for those that recover from this drought, Nelson worries about what will come next, as extreme weather events become more common.
“If the water table level does not come back up, what's next spring?” she said. “What's next winter?”
