Tuscany milk output falls 15% as heat and lower farmgate prices squeeze producers
Milk production in Maremma and elsewhere in Tuscany has fallen by about 15% amid prolonged heat, La Nazione reports. Farmgate prices have dropped from roughly €0.60 to €0.49 per litre, while energy, feed and operating costs remain high.
Heat cuts milk yields across Tuscany
Milk production in Maremma and other parts of Tuscany has fallen by about 15% as prolonged high temperatures increase heat stress among dairy cattle, according to La Nazione. The decline is intensifying pressure on a regional dairy sector already contending with weaker farmgate prices, high operating costs and a long-term contraction in output.
Cows exposed to elevated temperatures for consecutive days eat less and produce less milk. Farmers have invested in forced ventilation and water-misting systems to cool barns, but Fabrizio Tistarelli, director of the Grosseto Milk Producers Association, said these measures cannot fully offset weeks of extreme heat. The association represents about 80 cattle and sheep farms.
Farmgate price falls to €0.49 per litre
The economic strain extends beyond the weather. The price paid to farmers has fallen from about €0.60 per litre to €0.49, with some prices as low as €0.47. At the same time, expenditure on energy, feed and farm management remains high and is tending to increase, eroding margins and limiting producers’ ability to plan investments.
Luciano Nucci, president of Confcooperative Agroalimentare e Pesca Toscana and the Sorano dairy cooperative, described a market in which prices fell rapidly before record heat reduced animal productivity. He said Italy’s domestic milk supply was already insufficient to cover national consumption, making further production losses more consequential for processors and the wider supply chain.
Maremma output declines over a decade
The immediate heat-related fall comes on top of a longer decline in Maremma, the leading bovine milk-producing area in Tuscany. The territory produces almost half of the region’s cow’s milk. Annual production has decreased from more than 250,000 quintals to about 200,000 quintals over the past 10 years, a reduction of at least 20% from the stated starting level.
Tistarelli attributed the long-term decline not only to climate conditions but also to rising production costs, falling profitability and a lack of generational renewal. Fewer young people are choosing to continue family farming operations because margins are narrow, required investment is high and prospects are uncertain. For dairy farmers, the combination of lower output and a farmgate price of €0.49 per litre reduces the cash available for cooling equipment and other productivity measures. For processors, a smaller local milk pool may make procurement more difficult in a country that already depends on supply beyond domestic production.
