After the dry and scorching summer, producers asked for a temporary adaptation of their specifications to the National Institute of Origin and Quality.
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The 130 goats of Luc Falcot graze in the hills, on the southern slope of the Sainte-Baume massif. On his farm located in Cuges-les-Pins (Bouches-du-Rhône), the breeder produces the bush of the Rove. A cheese that has the distinction of being the latest to have obtained the precious sesame of the protected designation of origin (AOP). He won it in 2020 after an approach that lasted almost eleven years.
Now, France can be proud to hold 46 AOP cheeses spread over the territory. With very different realities between the eight farm producers of the Rove bush and the 2,400 producers of Comté milk, between cow’s milk, goat or sheep, hard paste or soft paste. The key: a taste, but also economical richness.
According to the National Council for Dairy appellations (CNAOL), this cheese plate weighed 210,511 tonnes in 2021, including 77 % of the volumes made with raw milk. As for turnover, it reached 2.3 billion euros, compared to 1.97 billion euros a year earlier. A jackpot that does not fail to sharpen appetites, in particular those of large dairy industrialists, like Lactalis, Savencia or Sodiaal.
Fall of lactation
Now, the balance of the PDOs is fragile. Between land pressure, renewal of generations, difficulty recruiting, but also climate challenge. This summer’s drought episode has proven it. “We were hit hard by the heat episode. We have no water point in our pasture areas. We had to bring it by truck. The goats did not have much to Eat and we suffered a 20 % drop in lactation, “says Falcot. In some names, the fear of a lack of fodder to spend the winter led them to request a temporary adaptation of their specifications.
“For the moment, we have approved eleven requests for derogation, especially in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region,” said Hubert Dubien, president of CNAOL. Banon, Bleu du Vercors, Abundance, Beaufort, Reblochon, Tomme des Beauges, Fourme de Montbrison, Laguiole, Cantal, Salers and Saint-Nectaire have already obtained a temporary revision of their specifications. If, in the case of the Holy Nectaire, the approach was linked to the ravages of the Campagnols and other mud rats in the meadows, all the others struck at the door of the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) , guardian of the temple of signs of food quality, following the dry and scorching summer.
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