France Relaxes Cheese-Making Rules After Severe Drought Hits Dairy Farms

France Relaxes Cheese-Making Rules After Severe Drought Hits Dairy Farms France has temporarily relaxed production rules for some of its best-known cheeses after a severe summer drought drastically reduced the amount of grass available to feed dairy herds. The shortage of grass has created difficulties for farmers, whose cattle depend heavily on pasture for feed. Reduced access to fresh grass can also affect the quality and characteristics of the milk used in traditional cheese production. The temporary rule changes are designed to give cheese producers greater flexibility as they deal with the impact of the drought while continuing to produce some of France’s most famous varieties. French cheeses with protected traditional production methods are subject to strict rules governing factors such as animal feed, milk production and processing. Relaxing some of those requirements highlights the scale of the challenges facing farmers. The drought has added to wider concerns about the impact of extreme weather on agriculture, food production and traditional farming practices. Farmers and producers will continue to monitor weather and pasture conditions as they navigate the effects of reduced rainfall and increasingly difficult growing conditions. The situation demonstrates how changing weather patterns can have consequences far beyond farms, potentially affecting some of France’s most distinctive and internationally recognised foods.