Climate Change Challenges AOP Cheese Production
Climate change is directly impacting the AOP cheese sector, forcing producers to reconsider their methods to maintain quality standards and preserve regional heritage.
Summary
Protected Designation of Origin (AOP) cheeses from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, including Époisses, Comté, and Mont d’Or, face significant climate challenges. Droughts are reducing grazing pastures, requiring farmers to supplement livestock feed with hay. This has led to necessary adjustments to product specifications, such as reducing Époisses’ fresh grass content from 50% to 40% in cattle diets, and increasing the minimum pasture area per animal for Comté. These adjustments highlight the urgent need for AOP producers to adapt to climate change and move towards greater local autonomy.
Key Points
• In 2022, 47% of France’s 179,800 tons of AOP cow’s milk cheese were produced in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
• Comté production fell from 64,500 to 63,500 tons between 2021 and 2022.
• Since 2015, the Époisses Syndicate has requested three exemptions to replace fresh grass with alternatives due to drought.
Insights and Analysis
Adaptation is Crucial: Traditional AOP standards are under threat from unpredictable climate patterns. To maintain both product identity and quality, AOP specifications are being revised to ensure production continuity while enhancing territorial autonomy.
Water Conservation and Sustainable Management: With recurring water shortages, producers must reduce water consumption, sometimes by 10%. Technologies like rinse cycle sensors help producers optimize water usage, ensuring production sustainability.
Seasonal Demand Impact: Mild winters affect demand for “weather-sensitive” cheeses like Mont d’Or and Morbier. This seasonality creates commercial uncertainty, prompting producers to adapt their market strategies accordingly.
Sanitary Challenges and High Costs: Humid summers increase the risk of harmful bacteria, leading to losses and costly sanitary controls, reaching up to €50 per kilo for Époisses. These heightened standards impact producer margins.
Business Opportunity
To mitigate climate change effects, AOP sectors could explore adaptation solutions, such as diversifying feed sources and developing resilient pastures using drought-tolerant seeds. Investments in water management and eco-friendly cooling systems could also reduce losses. In the long term, shifting to more autonomous, locally sourced production models may become the standard, enhancing AOP resilience and appealing to a market increasingly focused on sustainability.
Alice Polack
