Is cheese production affected by climate change? For two years, it has been declining and producers are pointing out the consequences of climate change. The production and sale of this famous Franche-Comté cheese, soft, in a wooden box, is seasonal and not spread over a full year. It is manufactured from August 15 to March 15 and then marketed from September 10 to May 10. If, as at the moment during the production period, the weather conditions are not optimal, too humid, it is the quantity and the possible quantity of cheese that is at stake. The producers have adapted and also requested a modification of the specifications of the protected designation of origin (PDO) of Mont d’Or.
Lots of rain, less milk and less nutritious grass
During the first thirty years of production, the volume only increased up to 6,000 tonnes produced in 2021-2022. Today, Éric Février, the president of the interprofessional union of Mont d’Or, knows that this volume of 6000 tonnes will never be reached again. The last two years prove it, production has capped at 5400 tonnes per season. “In August 2022, we experienced a drought such as, in the memory of elders, we had not experienced in Hauts-Doubs. This had a strong impact on the volumes of milk that were available at the start of the season, and the mountain of But being seasonal, what we don’t do at one point or another during the season, we don’t do it afterwards. For example, we experience episodes of rain which are significant. are sustainable and significant in volume, and this impacts milk production.”
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“Cows are like us, even if they live outside, they prefer the sun to the rain. When we have several consecutive days of rain, it also impacts the animals’ production, the cows drop a little in milk. Grass will also lose quality, because grass that spends its time in humidity loses nutritional value, less nutritious grass will mean that we will have a little less milk per cow Today, we are ‘weather. dependent’ in our production, especially in seasonal production.”
Marion Streicher
“The humidity will affect the condition of the pastures, the cows will be dirtier”
Never so much rain, never so much drought, on his farm in Tarcenay in “The violin house”Christel Rognon sees her cows suffer from the vagaries of the weather. “Beyond 30°C, they have difficulty breathing, they have difficulty ventilating, it impacts their state of health. When it is too humid, it will damage the hooves, they will have more problems to move around. The humidity will affect the condition of the pastures, the cows will be dirtier… And this also impacts the breeder.”
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A few kilometers from Tarcenay, in the commune of Mamirolle, Xavier Gigon teaches dairy technologies to l’Enilea. To his students, some of whom are future cheesemakers, he explains the consequences of these climatic disturbances on the quality of milk. “If we take the example of a drought, this will reduce the volume and quality of the milk, in particular the protein level and the fat level, and therefore the cheese yield. If it is too humid, it There will be an interest in the growth of grass but the animals will not be very comfortable. There may be a deterioration in the quality of the milk, we have more land, the cows are dirtier… In both cases, the know-how of farmers will be important to best manage these delicate periods.”
Adapt the AOP
Faced with these disturbances which are becoming the rule, it was necessary to adapt the protected designation of origin of Mont d’Or. “We increased the accessible surface area per cow, we went from one hectare to 1.3 hectares. For the farm, this reduces the number of animals that can be present by a third. Behind, with global warming, since this will affect the growth of grass depending on the years, this also makes it possible to secure fodder stocks on farms. This is important because in our specifications we require that all of the fodder that will be consumed on the farm comes from the geographical area of the AOP.” These new specifications for the appellation will come into force next year in 2025 for Mont d’Or. It will be the same thing for the AOP county and that of Morbier.
