“It’s as though our cattle were walking on crisps up there,” he said.

In France, farmers Dominique and Pierre Duperier said there was no water for their cows to drink in high mountain pastures so they have been driving water up to the cows every day, at a cost of €300 a week.

“We could take them down but the higher pastures bring a quality to the cheese in terms of its aromas that you don’t get at a lower level,” they said.

Dominique de Buman, chairman of a cheese-making cooperative in Fribourg, Switzerland – which is the home of the iconic gruyère cheese – said production would be hit despite measures taken by farmers. He said: “A fall can be predicted and we may even end up with a shortage of gruyère, given the strong demand for it.”

Anne-Marie Arsento-Curti, mayor of French village Castellar, owns 10 cows, 200 ewes and 450 goats.

She said the production of her cheeses have been halved because of the extreme weather.

The situation is more than critical,” she said. “We are no longer selling cheese in the local market.

“I am supplying my customers in dribs and drabs.”

Farmers are warning that as dairy cattle are sold to raise funds and prices of fodder also rises, a shortage of milk and cheese is to be expected.

They are warning that without government action, this shortage would carry on until the winter in France and Switzerland.

© Independent.co.uk