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MEAT MARKET, from pg. 14

dering company. The offal is then hog. If you get a good beef, I know I can hill. Andrew said he hauled cattle for a few years after he owned the shop, but has since stopped. “I need my guys working in the shop,” he said. Sausage has been a huge part of the business for a very long time and it is what the City Meat Market and Locker is most known for. “We still use great grandpa’s recipe,” Dammann said. That recipe won Pinske a prize at a sausage convention in Kansas City. “We have cut taken to another site to produce other things made from rendered products, like dog and cat food. Andrew said that Covid-19 and the meat shortage scare was actually helpful for business. “We’re doing a lot more [custom] processing. People found out they could get 70 pounds of burger and 50 pounds of roasts and steaks at once. And when they do it once, more often than not they are going to come back and do it again.” make all of the perfect cuts. But if I get a hog and it’s not split perfectly, it’s kind of hard to cut chops,” said Andrew. He also said, on the flip side, you can process hogs much more quickly than beef. Dammann said that he really enjoys running the meat market. He said he specifically enjoys the variety the job offers. The favorite part of the job for Ewald has always been the people. “You never know who is going to walk in the door next,” he said. down on the salt, but other than Dammann said that he does very The way to a butcher’s heart is probthat it’s still the same.” Andrew little advertising. “Word of mouth is ably through a tenderloin! Ewald and offered that in terms of volume, the best advertising by far,” he said. Dammann both favor the tenderloin of sausage is the number-one seller “And that goes way back!” Ewald either pork or beef when they have the with dried beef, jerky and peppero- chimed in. Neither Dammann or opportunity. “I always love a good ribni sticks following, which has Ewald spent much money on adver- eye, too,” said Andrew. remained much the same since Ewald took over in 1977. “In December alone, we’ll make almost 2,000 pounds of sausage,” said Dammann. “We ship [sausages] all over — Florida, Montana, City Meat Market and Locker currently processes nine to ten beef animals per week and will do up to 12 hogs every two weeks. Dammann said most of their processing used to be for farmers’ own use; but many are now sold privately to third-party consumers. tising. Now and then, both owners have sponsored local basketball and baseball games; but never did much more than that. When it comes to the job, both Andrew and Dale have favorites. You can find out more about City Meat Market and Locker by stopping by the shop on the corner of Division St. and 4th Ave. North in Brownton or giving them a call at (320) 328-4411. v California, Colorado. We can only ship the smoked and cured products,” he said. quality. But if you’re selling to custom ers, you want to sell good beef.” - “When it comes to processing, I would definitely rather do a beef than a Over the years, different aspects of the business have changed; but so have the animals. “I think we’re seeing better grades and bigger,” Ewald said. “We see much better quality now,” said Dale. Andrew agreed, “When I first started, I would say half of the beef we butchered was not choice.” In more recent years, most of the animals brought in for custom butchering are being sold privately to consumers which has been an industry shift Dammann has seen. In years prior, When asked what the most unique animal they have processed, Dale replied, “We butchered a few emu.” In the mid 1990’s through the early 2000’s, more people were growing emu’s as meat animals. “We had one get out one time,” laughed Dale. “We caught it in the drive-through of the bank!” Both Andrew and Dale have also processed bison. They have never processed poultry at the meat market. The most common animals they process are cattle, hogs, sheep and goats. • DRYER TOO SLOW? Upgrade to aGrain Handler, Brock SQ SuperborMeyer TowerDryer • NOT ENOUGH LABOR OR DRIVERS DURING HARVEST? It’s Time To PutInA1,100 Bushel Dump Pit! • NEED TO MOVE GRAIN FASTER? We Specialize in Vari-Air AirSystems,Double Run Conveyers & Bucket Elevators! • NEED MORE GRAIN STORAGE? Let’sBuild YouThe Best Bin Available, BROCK! ON TIME &DONE RIGHT MakeYourGRAIN SYSTEMMore Efficient most producers were butchering ani- Currently, the meat market is promals they were keeping for their own cessing nine or ten beef per week and consumption. “Which makes sense — up to 12 hogs every other week. This WINTER because if you’re keeping it for yourself, you might not care as much about the produces 30 to 35 barrels of offal which is picked up twice per week by a renDISCOUNTS ARE HERE

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This column was written for the marketing week ending Jan. 13. You’ll recall November milk production was up 1.3 percent from 2021. The latest Dairy Products report indicates that extra milk primarily went to the vat and the churn. Cheese production totaled 1.149 billion pounds, down 1.9 percent from October output which was revised up 4 million pounds, but was up 1.6 percent from November 2021. Output year-todate hit 12.7 billion pounds, up 1.7 percent from a year ago. Wisconsin produced 284.1 million pounds of that total, down 0.7 percent from October, but 1 percent above a year ago. California produced 208.7 million pounds, up 1.1 percent from October and 2.4 percent more than a year ago. New Mexico output slipped to 80.7 million pounds, down 3.3 percent from October but 2.4 percent more than a year ago. Idaho output dropped to 74.3 million pounds, down 12.7 percent from October, and 3.8 percent below a year ago. Italian cheese output fell to 484.9 million pounds, down 2.4 percent from October but 1.1 percent above a year ago. Year-to-date, Italian stands at 5.4 billion pounds, up 2.7 percent. American-type cheese slipped to 459.7 million pounds, down 2.1 percent from October, but 2.2 percent above a year ago. Year-to-date output, at 5.1 billion pounds is down 0.2 percent. Mozzarella output, at 380.9 million pounds, was up 1.5 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date at 5.1 billion pounds, down 0.2 percent. The Jan. 6 “Daily Dairy Report” says, Please read attached email “Cheesemakers consistently made big volumes of Mozzarella in 2022, a sign that Americans’ appetite CODE AND REP NAMES ALREADY ON AD THE LAND 3.417 x2” for pizza and other foods replete with Italian-style cheeses continued to grow.” Cheddar production fell to 319 million pounds, down 17.1 million pounds or 5.1 percent from October’s count, but was up 5.5 million pounds or 1.7 percent from November 2021. Year-to-date, chedThe Land dar is at 3.6 billion pounds, down 1.1 percent from a year ago.

See MIELKE, pg. 21

Butter output climbed to 169.9 million pounds, up 8.1 million pounds or 5 percent from October, and up 13.9 million pounds or 8.9 percent from a year ago. Year-to-date, butter output however stands at 1.9 billion pounds, down 1.2 percent from a year ago.

Yogurt totaled 346.8 million pounds, down 2.4 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date output at 4.3 billion pounds, down 2.7 percent.

Less cheese meant less whey. Output slipped to 74.6 million pounds, down 2.7 million pounds or 3.5 percent from October, and 1.3 million or 1.7 percent below a year ago. Year-to-date, whey is at 875.1 million pounds, up 2 percent. Stocks climbed to 72.9 million pounds, up 4.5 million pounds or 6.5 percent from October, and 13.2 million pounds or 22.1 percent above those a year ago.

Nonfat dry milk jumped to 159.5 million pounds, up 35.5 million pounds or 28.6 percent from October, but was 1.5 million pounds or 0.9 percent below a year ago. Year-to-date, powder was at 1.8 billion pounds, down 3.2 percent. Stocks grew to 256 million pounds, up 8.2 million or 3.3 percent from October, and 29.2 million or 12.9 percent above a year ago.

Skim milk powder output fell to 39.4 million pounds, down 16.8 million pounds or 29.9 percent from October, and down 20.2 million or 33.9 percent from a year ago. Year-to-date, skim milk powder was at 486.3 million pounds, down 25.1 percent from 2021. HighGround Dairy called the report neutral on cheese and nonfat but bearish on butter and dry whey. n

The U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered its 2022 and 2023 milk production forecasts in the Jan. 12 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. The 2022 estimate was reduced, based on lower expected milk per cow.

The 2023 forecast was lowered, due to a smaller expected herd size for the year, though output per cow was unchanged from last month. USDA’s Cattle Report, to be issued Jan. 31, will provide an indication of producer intentions for retaining dairy heifers for addition to the breeding herd, according to the WASDE. 2022 production and marketings were estimated at 226.8 and 225.8 billion pounds respectively, down 200 million pounds on production and down 100 million on marketings from last month’s estimates. If realized, 2022 production would only be up 500

MIELKE MARKET million pounds or 0.2 percent from 2021.

WEEKLY 2023 production and marketings were estimated

By Lee Mielke at 229.2 and 228.2 billion pounds respectively, down 300 million pounds on both from a month ago. If realized, 2023 production would be up 2.4 billion pounds or 1.1 percent from 2022. Cheese was projected to average $2.1122 per pound in 2022 and compares to $1.6755 in 2021 and $1.9236 in 2020. The 2023 average was projected at $1.93, down 6.5 cents from last month’s estimate. The 2022 butter price average was estimated at $2.8665 per pound and compares to $1.7325 in 2021 and $1.5808 in 2020. The 2023 average was projected at $2.33, down 13.5 cents from a month ago. Nonfat dry milk will average $1.6851 per pound in 2022, says the WASDE, up from $1.2693 in 2021 and $1.0417 in 2020. The 2023 average was estimated at $1.34, down 3.5 cents from a month ago. Dry whey will average 41.50 cents per pound in 2022, up from 57.44 cents in 2021 and 36.21 cents in 2020. The 2023 average was lowered a nickel to 41.5 cents per pound. The 2023 price forecasts were lowered on expectations of weak domestic demand and price pressure in international markets, says the WASDE The 2022 Class III milk price average was $21.96 per hundredweight, up from $17.08 in 2021 and $18.16 in 2020. The 2023 average was projected at $18.85, down 95 cents from last month’s estimate. The 2022 Class IV average is $24.47 and compares to $16.09 in 2021 and $13.49 in 2020. The 2023 estimate is $19.25, down 85 cents from a month ago. This month’s corn outlook is for reduced production, food, seed and industrial use, feed and residual use, exports, and ending stocks. Corn production was estimated at 13.73 billion bushels, down 200 million as an increase in yield was more than offset by a 1.6 million acre cut to harvested area. Total corn use was reduced 185 million bushels to 13.915 billion. Exports were reduced 150 million bushels to 1.925 billion, reflecting the slow pace of shipments through December, and the lowest level of outstanding sales as of early January since the 2019-20 marketing year. Food, seed and industrial use was lowered 10 million bushels. Feed and residual use was down 25 million bushels to 5.275 billion. With supply falling

News and information for Minnesota and Northern Iowa dairy producers