France Eases Cow Diets as Cheesemakers Sweat
Authorities said 95% of mainland France was hit by drought in July, leaving grasslands a third below average and forcing feed rule changes.
- On Wednesday, France relaxed strict production rules for Beaufort and other local cheeses, allowing producers to supplement cattle diets with outside fodder and grain due to severe drought.
- Summer drought affected 95 percent of mainland France in July, leaving normally rich pastures dry and bare, with the Agriculture Ministry reporting the fodder situation is "highly degraded" in almost all regions.
- To earn the "Protected Designation" label, producers must adhere to strict rules on animal grazing and feed; grassland growth as of August 10 measured one-third less than the 1989-2018 average.
- The National Institute of Origin and Quality announced temporary relief for several other cheeses including those from Auvergne and Ambert, protecting traditional production methods during the crisis.
- Scientists say human-caused climate change intensified the drought, with extreme heat rather than low rainfall driving conditions; heatwaves have also caused excess deaths, wildfires, and record low river levels across Europe.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Radio France Internationale
France eases cow diets as cheesemakers sweat
France's vast array of local cheeses are a source of national pride and authorities go to great lengths to protect traditional production methods and ensure authenticity. To earn a coveted "appellation d'origine protegee" (Protected Designation of Origin) label -- and the right to give their cheese a particular protected name -- producers must follow rigid rules on where their animals graze and what they eat. But the summer's drought, which affe…
Due to the "historical" drought this summer, which has disrupted the feeding of dairy cows, the government has allowed a temporary relaxation of the specifications of AOP cheeses abundance, beaufort and county.
The Local - Fr
The LocalFrance to relax cheese-making rules due to record heatwaves and drought
Widespread drought and record-breaking heatwaves have forced France to relax some of its famously strict rules on cheese production, with authorities announcing on Wednesday special measures for abondance, beaufort and comté.
In the face of a "historical" drought that has severely reduced grass and fodder resources, the government temporarily allows county, beaufort and abundance producers to relax the feeding rules of their cows. Other PDO cheeses could soon...
In the face of a drought described as "historical" by INAO, other wheat PDOs could soon benefit from similar flexibilities to preserve their production.
These three cheeses benefit from a protected designation of origin (PDO), a European label that normally requires farmers to feed their cows mainly with grass from a defined geographical area, in the Alps for the first two, and in the Jura massif for the county. Due to the lack of rain in the last few months having dried the pastures, the producers have obtained exceptional derogations to feed their herds. For the abundance, the breeders will be…
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