French farmers race to adapt as repeated heatwaves hit crops and livestock
Temperatures have climbed above 40C in parts of France and elsewhere in Europe, affecting both crops and livestock.
Harvests have started much earlier than usual in several regions, reflecting a longer-term trend linked to global warming.
"The weather station on the farm is showing 38.8C," says David Vincent, who grows almost 200 hectares of cereals in the southern department of Aude.
"The heatwaves since May have accelerated the end of the growing cycle for all our crops. So we started harvesting 15 days earlier than we used to. Clearly, our yields are down today," he told RFI.
Winter rainfall helped replenish soil moisture, allowing crops to grow normally through spring. But the rain stopped in April.
The harvest could potentially have been good at the beginning of May, Vincent said, but "by June, when we started harvesting, it was down by 10 percent to 30 percent in my area".
Vincent grows a wide range of crops – durum wheat, soft wheat, barley, protein peas, sorghum, maize, sunflower and rapeseed.
He said diversifying crops had become the best way to adapt to increasing climate uncertainty in the southern Occitanie region.
Western Europe records hottest ever June as climate change drives heatwaves
'I thought I was ready'
Livestock farmers have also been badly affected. Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard told the Senate that 9,127 tonnes of dead animals, mainly poultry, had been collected by the state after the heatwave at the end of June.
The worst-hit livestock farms are in western France, and with a third heatwave now affecting much of the country, many farmers fear further losses.
Pig farmer Bertrand Feugnet, from Rouillac in western France, said he had been anxious when temperatures of 43C were forecast.
"It's true that 15 days ago, when they announced 43C – which we did get – I was really worried about how the animals were going to react."
He said one neighbouring farmer lost 17 sows while they were giving birth in buildings where temperatures reached 34C. Thanks to a cooling mist system that lowered temperatures inside his buildings, Feugnet himself lost only three of his piglets. Chickens at a poultry farm in Montesquiou, south-west France, on 30 September 2025.
Organic cattle farmer Éric Germon, who raises Limousin cattle, said even his more traditional farming model was no longer protected from extreme heat.
"I thought I was ready for 2050 and I realise that even I am suffering. But we'll still have a head start, we'll suffer less than others," Germon said.
His working day now starts at 5:30 in the morning so he can move his cattle before temperatures rise. Although he rests during the afternoon, he said the long days were becoming exhausting.
French farmers suffer arid crops, heat-stricken animals
'We'll face shortages'
Extreme weather including flash droughts and torrential rain is expected to become more common as the climate warms, said Inaki Garcia de Cortaza Atauri, an agronomist and research director at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE).
"Within five or 10 years, these types of events are going to become more and more the norm and if we don't adapt, we're going to have problems, such as plants stopping growing," he said. "The quality of harvests will deteriorate, and production in general. At some point, we'll face shortages."
He said farmers would need to diversify crops, change crop rotations, alter growing cycles and improve soils so they retain water for longer.
The challenge, he said, is to spread those practices as widely as possible so farming can continue despite rising temperatures. Firefighters work to extinguish a fire near a farm in Grand-Auverné, in the west of France, 30 June 2026.
A Europe-wide issue
The European Union estimates that recent heatwaves have caused 3,500 excess deaths.
Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said productivity had fallen, schools had closed, harvests had been damaged, hospitals had come under pressure and roads and railways had been damaged.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament debated the EU's response to increasingly frequent wildfires. Beyond emergency measures, the bloc is also reviewing how it adapts to climate change.
The EU has activated its Civil Protection Mechanism nearly 20 times in recent months to respond to wildfires linked to heatwaves. It is also funding projects including urban greening to reduce heat in cities.
The European Environment Agency says Europe is the fastest-warming continent and faces 36 major climate risks covering ecosystems, food, health, infrastructure, the economy and finance.
The EU's 2021 climate adaptation strategy, which is not legally binding, is due to be replaced in 2026 by an integrated climate resilience framework. It is expected to include recommendations for protecting workers during periods of extreme heat.
This article was adapted from the original in French.