May: Peak Season for French Goat’s Milk Cheeses
This spring period therefore not only concentrates the greatest quantity of goat's milk, but also offers one of its best quality profiles.
It's a strategic time for farmers, artisan cheesemakers and cooperatives, since most goat's milk cheeses are produced very quickly after milking.
So it's not surprising that May is the month when you'll find the widest variety of cheeses available on market stalls or in dairy.
Bûches, palets, crottins, pyramids or ashy cheeses: it's the perfect time of the year to discover them, with a special focus, of course, on cheeses with a Protected Designation of Origin.
Every year, the month of May marks a high point in the French cheese-making calendar: it's the peak of goat cheese production, both in terms of volume and diversity. A phenomenon that owes nothing to chance, since it reflects the goats' natural reproductive cycle.
According to figures published by the French Institute of Livestock (Institut de l'Élevage), nearly 10,000 farms declared at least one goat in the 2020 agricultural census, and a third of them are involved in cheese processing. Once again this year, nearly 700 million liters of goat's milk are expected to be collected, with a peak in May.
Why May? The answer can be found in nature! Goats follow a seasonal biological rhythm. Most goat herds in France are brought to breeding in autumn (September to November), when goat fertility is naturally highest. After a gestation period of around 5 months, the logical time to give birth is between February and March.
This is the beginning of the lactation period, when mothers produce milk to feed their kids.
Production peaks between April and June, particularly in May. Here we go...
According to ANICAP (the official representative of the French goat dairy industry), goat's milk is the main raw material for 16 of France's 46 PDO cheeses.
From B for Banon to V for Valençay, including Brocciu, Brousse du Rove, Chabichou du Poitou, Charolais, Chevrotin, Crottin de Chavignol, Mâconnais, Pélardon, Picodon, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Rigotte de Condrieu and Rocamadour, Sainte-Maure de Touraine or Selles-sur-Cher, you'll find them at the Cheese and Dairy Products Show from 7 to 9 June 2026, with exhibitors including Fromageries de l'Étoile (Banon), Ferme Georgelet (Chabichou du Poitou) and Fromagerie Bernard (Charolais and Mâconnais).
At the Cheese and Dairy Products Show 2024, a number of exhibitors proudly represented these emblematic terroirs:
- Fromageries de l'Étoile (Banon) Specializing in Banon PDO, Fromageries de l'Étoile promotes traditional know-how handed down through several generations. Banon is matured in chestnut leaves, giving the cheese its unique character. Ferme Georgelet (Chabichou du Poitou)
- Ferme Georgelet is renowned for its Chabichou du Poitou PDO. Located in the Deux-Sèvres region of France, the farm raises its goats and processes the milk on site, using traditional maturing methods.
- Fromagerie Bernard (Charolais and Mâconnais) Located in the Saône-et-Loire region, Fromagerie Bernard offers two top PDO products: Charolais and Mâconnais. Its approach combines respect for tradition with rigorous manufacturing processes.
- Fromagerie Poitou Chèvre This cheese dairy won an award at the Concours Général Agricole 2024 for its soft and bloomy-rind goat's milk cheeses.
- SAS Fromagerie Le Pic Fromagerie Le Pic won a gold medal at the Concours Général Agricole 2024 for its Ash goat's cheese.
- Coopérative Laitière de la Sèvre Producer of Sèvre et Belle, this cooperative has been singled out for its soft goat's milk and bloomy rind cheeses.
- Fromagerie Guilloteau Known for its Valcrest and Pavé d'Affinois brands, Fromagerie Guilloteau has won medals for its soft and bloomy-rind goat's cheeses.
- Fromagerie Dubois-Boulay This cheese dairy won a gold medal for its soft goat's cheese with a bloomy rind at the Concours Général Agricole 2024.
- Fromagerie Soignon The Soignon brand, part of the Eurial group, has been awarded a prize for its soft goat's cheese with a bloomy rind.
- Ferme de la Tremblaye
This farm won a bronze medal for its blue-veined goat's cheese.
These producers, represented at the 2024 edition of the Cheese and Dairy Products Show, illustrate the diversity and richness of French goat's cheese, highlighting traditional know-how and unique terroirs.