As an extreme drought batters mountain agriculture across Northern Italy, severe shortages of hay and silomais in Valtellina and the province of Sondrio are driving up production costs and forcing early livestock management adjustments in August 2026.
The Parched Valleys of Sondrio
The landscape across the Italian Alps looks entirely wrong for late August. Instead of the vibrant green characteristic of the region, vast stretches of grassland glow a brittle, gold-yellow under the sun, while corn plantations have been scorched by relentless heat. Persistent rainfall arrived late in August, coming down in torrents, but local agronomists confirm it is far too little, too far too late to rescue a disastrous agricultural season.
The damage hits the livestock and dairy sectors directly. According to Rita Pusterla, an agronomist with Aral (the Regional Breeders Association) covering Media and Bassa Valtellina and Valchiavenna, producers managed to save only the first cutting of hay executed between early and mid-May. Subsequent cuttings faced staggering production drops. “For quanto riguarda il fieno si è salvato solo il primo taglio,” Pusterla notes, explaining that the third cutting was almost completely lost apart from minor yields in the Pian di Spagna area and localized zones near high water tables like the plain of Ardenno.
Alpine Production Halved Across Northern Italy
The crisis is not isolated to Sondrio. Agricultural networks across Northern Italy and neighboring Alpine countries are experiencing identical supply shocks, with some regional operators already forced to import routine supplies of hay from France.
Further up the valley, Gianpiero Valbuzzi, an Aral agronomist for Media and Alta Valtellina operating from Tirano northward, describes the season as an absolute catastrophe for both hay and silomais—the corn grown locally specifically for animal feed. In Bormio, the second harvest window yielded zero output because the fields were completely barren. The distress extends directly to high-altitude pastures, pushing many herders to bring their livestock down from the mountain alpeggi prematurely.
Compromised Forage Quality and Skyrocketing Overhead
Timing dictates the annual math of alpine forage production. Approximately 60 percent of annual fodder relies strictly on the first and second cuts, with the initial harvest alone accounting for 40 percent of total volume. Late-season cuts normally undergo specialized preservation, wrapped in plastic film to promote anaerobic fermentation and prevent internal mold growth, keeping the feed palatable for dairy cows and heifers. This season, those late cuttings are effectively nonexistent.
Silomais faces an equally grim trajectory. Normally harvested for chopping in September, farmers have initiated premature chopping cycles just to salvage whatever remaining fiber and starch they can for livestock nutrition. The compounding financial burden—driven by dramatically reduced hay volumes, ruined corn crops, and soaring agricultural diesel prices—will drastically compress farm operating budgets across the province.
