Heatwaves Threaten Production of France's Salers Cheese

French dairy farms are confronting unprecedented challenges as successive heatwaves this summer have stressed livestock and dried pastures.

Situation details

The national meteorological service reported July as the hottest month since records began in 1900 and one of the driest on record. Consequently, dairy farms had to buy extra feed to compensate for the lack of grass, which reduced milk yields and calf numbers.

Laurant Lor, a farmer and cheesemaker with 35 years of experience, said, "In the past, we faced a grass shortage every 15 to 20 years. Now the problem recurs roughly every two years and worsens." He added that five heatwaves have already hit this year, a phenomenon never seen before.

Impact on Salers cheese

Salers, one of 47 French cheeses with the AOP label, is produced in the Cantal region at elevations between 800 and 1,500 metres and relies on milk from cows grazing on natural pastures. The strict rules require that the milk contain no more than 25% supplemental dry matter.

Facing a grass shortage, Lor stopped Salers production on July 8 and switched to Cantal, a cheese with more flexible production rules that allows higher percentages of imported feed and year‑round production.

Context and temporary measures

In response to the historic drought, the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) announced temporary adjustments permitting some cheese makers to increase feed or import it from outside AOP zones. Salers producers did not request an exemption, arguing that a lower grass content would compromise the cheese’s authenticity.

Cheesemakers are calling for a permanent review of standards to adapt to climate change, though any amendment could take years.

The debate over preserving the cheese’s distinctive flavor and traditional identity remains central as climatic shifts threaten to repeat such crises.