France, Aug. 27 -- The government announced the changes to producing Abondance, Beaufort and Comte - hard cheeses made from the raw milk of cows grazing in the Alps and Jura mountains - on Wednesday.

Abondance farmers will be allowed to reduce the amount of grazed grass their cows eat, while Beaufort producers will be able to rely less on locally produced hay and grass. Comte producers can source some green maize from outside individual farms until the end of October.

"This is a welcome and common-sense decision, given the alarming drought situation," said Joel Vindret, head of SIFA, a group of cheesemakers in the Abondance valley, south of Lake Geneva.

Growth on permanent grasslands as of 10 August is a third less than the 1989-2018 a...