Overview
- Farmer group IG‑Milch says milk farms in Upper Austria, Salzburg and Lower Austria face an 'absolute exceptional situation' as grass and maize yields collapse and hay stocks are used up.
- IG‑Milch has formally asked Austria’s catastrophe fund for a one‑off payment of €300 per cow and called for a national feed exchange, transport subsidies and a crisis coordination team.
- Several farmers have already begun culling animals after total maize losses and massive barley shortfalls were reported on individual farms, cutting near‑term herd numbers.
- Hessen’s farmers’ association set up a regional feed‑exchange to match sellers and buyers; organizers report more offers of surplus feed than current requests but warn shortages persist because low rainfall is widespread.
- The ongoing heatwave with temperatures above 40°C is worsening pasture failure, raising logistics challenges for moving feed, squeezing already weak milk prices and threatening longer‑term production capacity.