Photo: aglioolioepeperoncino.com
According to Reuters, Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmigiano-Reggiano Producers’ Consortium, said that the extreme heat is already affecting the volume and quality of milk—a key raw material for cheese production.
At temperatures above 40 0C, cows experience heat stress: they eat less, spend more time lying down, and produce about 10% less milk. This directly affects Parmigiano-Reggiano production, as authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano can only be made from the milk of cows fed on grass and hay produced in five Italian provinces.
“If there’s no rain, there will be no grass, no hay, and therefore it will be impossible to obtain the milk needed to produce the cheese,” Bertinelli noted.
The problem extends far beyond the farms. Rising temperatures are driving up the cost of storing finished products. Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels must age for at least 12 months, and certain varieties are aged for several years. Hundreds of thousands of cheese wheels, with a total value of over 300 million euros, are stored in the region’s large warehouses, and the heat is forcing operators to increase spending to maintain the necessary microclimate.
Magazzini Generali delle Tagliate, which manages one of the largest warehouse complexes, reported that during periods of extreme heat, electricity consumption has risen by approximately 30%.
The Parmigiano-Reggiano production industry generates about 4.5 billion euros in economic value annually, provides jobs for thousands of people, and plays an important role in Italian exports. In 2025, more than half of global sales of this cheese were to foreign markets, with the United States becoming the largest buyer.
Producers fear that further intensification of climate risks will lead to higher production costs and could alter the economics of producing one of Italy’s most famous products.
“We don’t want to be the last generation to eat this,” said Paolo Ganzerli, director of international sales for the GranTerre food group.
