France relaxes rules for three famous cheeses after summer drought

The government announced the changes to producing Abondance, Beaufort and Comté – hard cheeses made from the raw milk of cows grazing in the Alps and Jura mountains – on Wednesday.

Abondance farmers will be allowed to reduce the amount of grazed grass their cows eat, while Beaufort producers will be able to rely less on locally produced hay and grass. Comté producers can source some green maize from outside individual farms until the end of October.

"This is a welcome and common-sense decision, given the alarming drought situation," said Joel Vindret, head of SIFA, a group of cheesemakers in the Abondance valley, south of Lake Geneva.

Growth on permanent grasslands as of 10 August is a third less than the 1989-2018 average, according to the Agriculture Ministry's statistical service. 

"The aim remains to feed the herds under the best possible conditions despite the sharp decline in grass and hay. This therefore calls for exceptional measures," Vindret told RFI. 'Abondance' cows grazing in the French Alps. Farmers are facing difficulties to meet the needs of livestock due to drought.

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Impossible AOP conditions 

France's vast array of regional 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 protégée (AOP) label, and the right to give their cheese a particular protected name, producers have to follow tight rules on where their animals graze and what they eat.

For Abondance, the cheese must be produced exclusively in the mountains of Haute-Savoie where many herds graze on mountain pastures in the summer, Vindret explains. "Their diet is mainly based on grass. Fermented feeds are prohibited, as are GMOs and supplementary feeds like cereals are limited."

This summer's drought, which has affected 95 percent of mainland France in July, made it impossible to meet those conditions.

"The specifications for our AOP label require that herds be fed largely on grass grazed in summer and in dried form hay and second-cut hay] in winter. And the grass must come from the Abondance appellation area," said Vindret.

"If we were to comply with these rules this summer and for the coming winter, we wouldn't be able to feed our herds adequately."

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'Exceptional' temporary reprieve

The AOP label guarantees a certain quality, so easing production methods could undermine confidence in the label. But Vindret said he was not worried.

"These measures should only be invoked in exceptional circumstances and the AOP label continues to offer lots of other benefits, such as the preservation of traditional know-how and local cattle breeds," he said.

The government measures are part of a wider relaxation of France's protected-origin rules as the drought bites.

The National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO), the government agency that administers and enforces rules of origin, says it will also grant temporary relief for several other cheeses including Reblochon, Cantal, Bleu d'Auvergne, and Fourme d'Ambert.

Champagne, Comté and croissants in the crossfire of climate change

Meanwhile, French farmers in other sectors are bracing for their smallest corn crop since 1980, while winegrowers are reporting some of the earliest harvests on record.

Scientists say human-caused climate change has made the drought worse, with extreme heat rather than low rainfall driving the dry conditions.

Vindret said Abondance producers are already taking steps to adapt to climate change, through ventilation of buildings, increasing shade in their fields and optimising grass resources.

(with newswires)