On September 30, 2026, the prolonged drought in the Hexagon—a term often used to refer to France—has continued to hinder the regrowth of grass in pastures, according to a monitoring dashboard released by Agreste, a French agricultural statistics agency, on September 29. The deficit in grass growth compared to the reference period has reached "an unprecedented level," as noted in a follow-up report from Agreste published on October 7. The report highlights that the current grass growth deficit now exceeds that of the severe 2003 drought, a year marked by extreme weather conditions across Europe. As of September 30, the growth of permanent pastures was 42% below the average for the reference period of 1989–2018, a slight increase from 40% on September 20. The statistical service of the Ministry of Agriculture explains that since the heatwave at the end of June, high temperatures and drought conditions have persisted almost continuously, preventing any recovery of grass growth. By September 30, 52.9% of the annual reference growth had been achieved, significantly lower than the 91% recorded at the same time during the 1989–2018 average. Agreste notes that for more than three months, the cumulative growth of grass has remained stagnant. For the majority of the country, pasture production has been "strongly deficient," with indicators below 75%, according to Agreste. Only the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Paca) region maintains a production considered "normal," with a pasture yield indicator between 90 and 110. The rest of the regions are experiencing significant deficits, with Agreste stating that "with very few exceptions, the entire territory is experiencing a deficit exceeding 25%, and locally exceeding 60%." This level of grass shortage has serious implications for agriculture, particularly for livestock farming, which relies heavily on pasture for feeding animals.