Starting Point for a Story

I have only changed one small thing in this passage from a New York Times story about the effect of the drought on cattle ranchers.  I think it improves it a lot:

Ms. Manning and her daughter Debbie Murray came to sell 160-year-old steers. There had been little winter snow to moisten the ground at their ranches near Lost Springs, and the spring was hot and dry. A wildfire burned three of their pastures. Now, with the summer sun frying what little grass remained and hay selling for $200 a ton, they decided to winnow the herd.

Sometimes the smallest changes yield the biggest gains in storytelling capacity.