Cheese Weather

The field holds
less than it promises –
a green-wane
underfoot,
where mouths
once read the season
by the hour.
What remains
is shuffled indoors:
grain-pellet,
silage-strip,
a measure too dry
to remember the dew.
Through the udder’s turn,
a yield comes –
thinner,
but steady.
Each trace carried
in rind and melt –
a grass-memory,
folded into
the tongue’s
forgetting.

This poem is inspired by recent research, showing that climate change and cheese quality are directly linked.

In many dairy regions, cows rely on fresh mountain grass. But as summers grow hotter and drier, grass becomes harder to grow. This affects not only animal welfare but also the flavour, texture, and colour of traditional cheeses made from their milk.

To understand the impact, researchers compared two systems. One used mainly grazed grass. The other used corn-based feed with limited grazing. When fresh pasture was reduced, cheese flavour and colour also declined. However, keeping even a small amount of fresh grass helped. It preserved cheese quality, reduced methane emissions, and improved feed efficiency. These findings suggest that during dry summers, keeping pasture in the diet still makes a difference. It helps farmers, protects the climate, and gives better cheese.