Drought in the Jura: Tête de Moine AOP output down thirty per cent

The drought affecting the Jura is having heavy consequences for Tête de Moine AOP. Of the six dairies that make it, only one is reaching normal processing volumes. The figure is reported by Le Quotidien Jurassien.

The problem lies further upstream, in the barn. Milk production has fallen by around thirty per cent on average. Farmer Guillaume Guenot explained that a cow that used to give twenty-four litres a day now gives only twelve.

To cope with the shortage of fodder, many farmers have reduced their herds, sending to slaughter animals that were meant to see out the winter. On top of the heatwaves have come insect infestations, which cause diarrhoea in livestock and an increase in spontaneous abortions.

2026 is covered, 2027 is not

The sector's management committee offers reassurance for the current year. Cheese reserves are enough to guarantee year-end sales, which account for forty per cent of turnover. Part of the stock is refrigerated to slow maturing so it is ready at the right moment.

The concerns are about 2027. That is when the drop in milk from this year's third quarter will be felt in full, because a semi-hard cheese reaches the market months after it is made.

There is also a less visible and longer-lasting effect. Cutting herds risks undoing years of work on genetic selection, which cannot be recovered by buying animals on the market.

Farmers hope that federal payments linked to keeping livestock and to alpine grazing will continue despite smaller herds. Support that shrinks just as output falls and costs rise could, they fear, discourage producers.

The situation closely resembles that of the Ossola alpine pastures, where a shortage of grass threatens Bettelmatt and forces herds down to the valley a month early. In both cases a traditional product depends on pasture that is not there this year, and the sector is discovering that its buffer of stock covers one season, not two.