Among the problems caused by the extreme heatwave of summer 2026 is the impact on livestock farms – another key sector of the Italian agri-food industry – to the extent that there is talk of “a consequent reduction in milk production of around 10 per cent”. Alarm has been raised by co-op association Confcooperative, through its dairy sector president, Alessandro Mocellin, who states that “we cannot recall a period with so many consecutive days of such high temperatures. The animals are no longer able to recover during the night; they remain in a state of constant stress and are beginning to show signs of illnesses that are not normally seen on farms”.

The consequences are already beginning to be felt in production. Whilst in June national production was still broadly in line with the same month in 2025, in the first few days of August, as Confcooperative explains, “we are seeing a fall in production of around 10 per cent compared with the last week of July”. This is “a decline that is also being exacerbated,” Mocellin adds, “by the growing difficulty in ensuring sufficient water for livestock farms, particularly in lowland areas and the Po Valley, where water scarcity has now become a structural emergency. The problems also extend to livestock feed: the forage harvest is below expectations and a deterioration in quality is also likely.”

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