Recent hot weather has dried up grass five months ahead of schedule.

For cattle farmers, that means either dip into winter feed sooner than planned, or sell off some of the stock early.

"What grass is there is just burned up," said Claude Sensabaugh, who owns Holly Manor Farms in Campbell County. "I don't want to feed them (hay) this early but I wasn't gonna let 'em go hungry."

At the Lynchburg Livestock Market on Monday (July 12), about 3,000 cattle were up for auction, nearly double the usual number for this time of year.

"I think that's the largest sale so far this year," said Duane Gilliam, one of the market's owners, as he watched officials grade cows and send them onto scales Monday (July 12) afternoon.

If it were not for the rainfall and heat, Gilliam said he would have about 1,500 head of cattle right now.

The increase has not created a glut, though, because of high demand for ground beef nationwide. "Prices have been excellent since the beginning of the year and we look for them to continue to be so," said Gilliam. He expected 90% of the young cattle at the market to sell for more than US$1 per pound.

While the per-pound price is good, the cattle do not weigh as much as they would in the fall, after a summer of eating lush grass and hay. Their value is determined by weight and the heat has slimmed them down, leaving farmers with only one choice – sell light or wait it out.

Bill Nance, who raises Angus cows in Bedford, estimates that selling light could cost area farmers several thousand dollars.

"When you do that you don't have any profit at all," said Nance. "There's very little profit in farming anyway."

The heat affects milk production, too, adversely impacting the bottom line for dairy cows.

Earl Pickett, president of the Appomattox County Farm Bureau, said this kind of heat could cause a 10-15% decrease in milk production in a cow.

"For farmers on the margin that could make the difference between making a profit and losing," said Pickett. He does not believe this recent challenge, though, will put any farmers in the region out of business.

While Monday's (July 12) rainfall of less than an inch was most welcome, farmers across Central Virginia said they need at least four days of slow, ground-saturating rain to bring grasses back to life and make the cows more comfortable.

"The heat makes the public uncomfortable and they don't like to see their yards dry up," Gilliam said, "but it's not an economic hardship for them like it is for a farmer."