French Livestock Farmers Challenge Method Used to Assess Drought Losses on Pastures
Representatives of the French agricultural organizations FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs staged a protest at Sommet de l’Élevage over insurance coverage for drought losses. They criticized the current method of assessing pasture conditions using satellite data, arguing that its results do not always reflect conditions on farms.
The dispute concerns the grassland index, one of the tools used to assess drought damage. Patrick Bénézit, president of France’s National Cattle Federation (FNB), said the index’s methodology had not been changed since 2016 and that, according to him, satellite observations had not been checked against conditions on the ground since 2019.
Jean-Luc Perrin, secretary-general of the regional FRSEA Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes association, said the €1.5 billion in government support announced in response to the drought was insufficient. Pasture conditions affect feed availability on livestock farms, making the method used to assess losses relevant to milk producers as well.
