Fifty years ago, farmers in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna would open their barn windows at night during the summer to cool their livestock.
Today, as heat waves push temperatures to record highs, those windows remain open day and night to protect the cows, and therefore their milk, which forms the basis of the area's centuries-old production of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
"Extreme heat affects the quality and quantity of milk," said Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmiggiano Reggiano Consortium, who also runs a dairy farm his family founded in 1895 on the outskirts of Parma.
Costs increase as the cheese matures
When temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius, cows spend more time lying down, eat less and produce up to 10 percent less milk, one of only three ingredients in Parmesan cheese, along with salt and rennet.
The production of authentic Parmiù Reggio cheese is only allowed in five provinces, mainly in the Emilia-Romagna region, and the cows must be fed exclusively with grass and hay produced in the area.
"If there is no rain, the grass does not grow, hay cannot be produced and it is impossible to get the milk needed to make cheese," Bertinelli, 54, told Reuters.
He and other manufacturers have also installed fans and water mist systems, but these additional cooling measures have significantly increased energy costs.
The rising bills are also affecting warehouse managers where cheese wheels are stored during the ripening process, which lasts at least 12 months, and sometimes three years or even longer.
More than 500.000 rounds of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, worth a total of more than 300 million euros, are being stored in two warehouses managed by Magazzini Generali delle Tagliate (MGT), a unit of Credito Emiliano bank, in the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena.
"During this year's strongest heat waves, our daily energy consumption increased by around 30 percent," said MGT director Giancarlo Ravaneti.
"To make our facilities as energy efficient as possible, we have upgraded cooling and boiler systems, improved building insulation and increased energy production from renewable sources," he added.
"We don't want to be the last generation to eat it"
The regional temperature-controlled warehouses have become institutions of sorts, collectively known as the Banca Parmigiana. Behind their walls, technology and tradition go hand in hand.
Each wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese undergoes strict quality controls, including X-rays, to rule out any defects. The cheese is inspected weekly by experts who use small hammers to tap each wheel, listening for signs of possible irregularities that may have occurred during ripening.
"The human factor remains crucial and represents the real strength of the entire process," said Ravaneti.
Paolo Gancerli, director of international sales at the food group GranTerre, which had consolidated revenue of 1,87 billion euros in 2025, agreed with Ravanetti's concerns about rising costs.
"If extreme weather events last longer and become more intense, they will certainly affect both the quantity and quality of milk, but above all, they will lead to higher costs," he said.
The stakes are high.
The Parmigiano Reggiano industry generates an annual revenue estimated at 4,5 billion euros, employs thousands of people and drives the local economy.
During 2025, exports accounted for more than 50 percent of total global sales of that cheese, and the United States was its largest foreign market.
Parmigiano Reggiano “has been around for more than 800 years,” Gancerli said.
"We don't want to be the last generation to eat it."
Prepared by: BH
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