Animal disease outbreaks have been another drag on EU milk deliveries in 2026, according to the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), in a report summarised by Melanie Epp for The Cattle Site.
Bluetongue has been moving into southern Europe since the late 1990s, and a new serotype, BTV-3, found in northern and western Europe in 2023 spread to neighbouring countries. Only some eastern member states are recognised as free of it, and many affected countries vaccinate. The Netherlands has not detected it in 2026, reportedly thanks to immunity from infection and vaccination; cases in Germany fell sharply; in France BTV-8 outbreaks dropped but BTV-3 is still spreading.
Epizootic haemorrhagic disease, confirmed in western France in 2025, has had no new outbreaks since 1 June 2026. Lumpy skin disease, first found in the EU in Italy in 2025 and then in France and Spain, has produced no new French outbreaks since 2 January; Spain and Italy reported cases in 2026 under strict controls and vaccination, and Spain lifted its restrictions on 29 April.
The newest worry is the Shamonda virus, which spread rapidly across France this year, with cases confirmed in 16 departments by 20 August and nationwide circulation expected. Spain has found type 1 in cattle in Cordoba, Toledo, Avila and Madrid and type 2 in Cantabria, and Germany has cases mostly in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Carried mainly by culicoides midges and by infected animals that often show no signs, it affects cattle of all ages and raises fears of a wave of abortions in dairy and beef herds. How common it is in dairy herds is unclear because reporting is not mandatory.
Bluetongue, lumpy skin disease and Shamonda are usually mild in dairy cows, but they can cut milk yield for a time, cause fertility problems and raise deaths, which reduces herds and output.
FAS expects these pressures, together with the shortage of young farmers taking over, to bring more consolidation and farm closures in 2026. Arla Foods and DMK merged under the Arla name on 1 June to form Europe's leading dairy cooperative, and FrieslandCampina and Milcobel completed their merger on 1 January.
Photo: Fourrure / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source: The Cattle Site
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