Alarm is growing in Italian barns with heat and drought burning pastures and corn, putting the supply of hay and cereals for animals at risk, while costs for farmers are rising.
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The alarm is raised by Coldiretti with high temperatures and below-normal rainfall also affecting the livestock sector.
The corn harvest campaign is weighed down this year by extremely difficult climatic conditions, with water stress particularly affecting the flowering and grain filling phases, compromising the productive potential. In the most affected areas of Piedmont and Lombardy, damages are already estimated above 30%, with peaks up to 70%, while in some areas the harvest risks being completely lost.
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The final extent of losses will depend on weather conditions until the harvest, but drought already represents the main limiting factor, with heavy economic repercussions on farms and the entire livestock supply chain.
Pastures are also burning where the lack of rain, especially in the North, from Piedmont to Trentino Alto Adige, is causing forage production drops between 30 and 40%.
