production of AOP Salers cheese stopped in Cantal

The conclusion is clear: too dry, and no rain expected. The green pastures of Vézac (Cantal) are only a distant memory, Friday August 12. “As we can see, we have nothing left. Everything is dry, a real doormat. Then it’s all over the farm”, confides Stéphanie Gardes, from Gaec de Vézac. His 50 cows can no longer eat grass. They should be fed with fodder, but on the farm taken over from her father five years ago, she produces Salers. However, the AOP specifications for this cheese are very strict: the cows must feed on at least 75% grass.

She hopes to be able to resume her activity at the end of September, if the rains arrive. Instead of Salers, it produces farmhouse Cantal, sold at a lower price. Laurent Lours, president of the AOP Salers, now also prepares Cantal. According to him, the temporary shutdown of production is necessary. “We produce cheese, but behind it, the consumer, wants a quality product, a product with flavors. And these flavors, you only get them with grass”, he explains. About 1,200 tonnes of Salers are produced each year. If the drought continues, the shortage will be felt during the winter for consumers.