Billions needed to compensate drought losses in France 

Billions of euros will be needed to compensate for “colossal” production losses linked to the drought, France’s agricultural federation said. 

In a joint press release, the group of livestock breeders appealed to the French government for “2 to 4 billion euros” to recover from the unprecedented drought. 

France has seen drought and extreme heat this year, which has caused meadows to dry up and dented maize yields – the main source of food for farm animals, such as cows, goats and sheep, they said. 

They added they’ve already started feeding their animals with their winter supplies, raising fears for the rest of the year. 

Extreme weather events are a more regular occurrence, and are intense and longer due to climate change. The federation said unless governments and people make substantial cuts to their emissions this trend will only get worse.