HOPE, Ark. – A wet spring has left hay farmers scrambling to catch up and bracing for the ripple effects as summer begins.

What was expected to be a strong hay season took a frustrating turn for farmers like fourth-generation rancher Mindy Lockhart, who is weeks behind schedule.

EPA funds $281,000 to Arkansas to reduce lead in children’s drinking water

“We’re completely done usually with our first cutting and we would have a little over a thousand bales of hay or more already,” Lockhart said. “This year we are at seventy-seven. So we are way behind.”

In May, Little Rock experienced 6.5 inches of rainfall, about one inch more than the average this time of the year.

The persistent rain has kept farmers from cutting cool-season grass from the fall and early spring.  That delay, in turn, slowed the growth of warm-season grass needed for summer hay production.

Arkansas farm net income trending positively for first time in years with a catch

“You are looking at three, four, five days just for the ground to dry up and then another three, four, five days for the hay itself. For that grass to dry,” said John McMinn, director of commodity activities and economics at the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation.

When hay gets wet, it loses nutritional value, especially as rainwater leaches out key carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins that livestock need. The reduced nutrition could lead to feeding shortages as farmers will be forced to supplement with more hay or feed to meet their livestock’s needs. 

“As the producer, we’re going to have to put out more minerals; we’re going to have to add extra feed,” Lockhart said.

Less farmland is going for organic crops as costs and other issues take root

The Arkansas Farmers Bureau encourages the public to remain patient and support local producers as they navigate the challenges of the season.