 In the Jura Massif, the production of Comté supports:
• More than 3,000 farms
• More than 170 cheese dairies known as fruitières
• 20 maisons that mature and market the cheeses, and a great many associated suppliers.
A determining factor in the entire economic activity of the Jura Massif, it plays an important role in creating employment, town and country planning, the maintenance of the landscape and respect for the environment.
Comté has never been compatible with intensive farming, be it in terms of fodder or milk production. All the constraints and precautions required of those involved in the production of Comté have proved themselves to be a powerful safeguard against the excesses of intensive agriculture. For this reason fertilizer costs in Franche-Comté are particularly low.
With its 170 fruitières where the highly qualified profession of master cheese maker is practised on a daily basis, Comté supports an approach to town and country planning that involves a harmonious distribution of the tools for processing the milk over all of the Massif. Preserving Comté from standardization in terms of flavour, the cheese dairies ensure that the final product keeps a certain local character, thereby justifying a higher price and making sure that the dairy farmer benefits from significant added value. It is the Comté milk which tends to increase the overall regional milk price and makes Franche-Comté the region where producers are paid the most for their milk (source of statistics: ONILAIT).
The 3,000 producers of Comté milk thus make a significant contribution to the vitality of the Jura Massif, along side other artisanal activities in the area, thereby achieving the objective of maintaining employment in a large geographical area that would otherwise be at a disadvantage.
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