Volume 34 July 25, 2014 Number 27 Scan this code for breaking Aging cheeses challenging yet news and the latest markets! rewarding in fl avor and quality By Alyssa Mitchell content in the cheese. other half at 45 degrees — it was aged on also can vary. INSIDE Many cheesemakers and so different you wouldn’t know it Jeff Jirik, vice president of MADISON, Wis. — Like fi ne agers also are concerned with was the same cheese,” he says. product development at Swiss wine, some cheeses only get ammonia vs. oxygen exchange The optimal curing tem- Valley Farms, Davenport, Iowa, ✦ Total natural cheese in better with age. But the prac- and taking out ammonia that is perature for cheese depends and former owner of Faribault cold storage down 8 tice of aging cheese, which can created during the breakdown on its type, notes John Jaeggi, Dairy Co., now a wholly-owned percent from year ago. be done a number of different of proteins by the secondary cheese industry and applica- subsidiary of Swiss Valley, in For details, see page 3. ways, is extremely complex and microfl ora, notes Brian Ralph, tions coordinator, CDR. Faribault, Minn., has experi- not without its challenges. cave manager, Murray’s Cheese, “Cheddar and Mozzarella ence aging cheese on both wood ✦ Guest column: Cheese requires a warm, New York, N.Y. are commonly aged in Cryovac and other surfaces. ‘Facts for cheese’s future.’ moist environment with proper The size of a cheese as well sealed bags where it sits in an In 1854, German immigrant For details, see page 4. air circulation and oxygen- as the number stored within a aging environment,” he says. Gottfried Fleckenstein began carbon dioxide exchange in given space also infl uences the “Cheddars in particular can age using the natural sandstone ✦ NPD Group says U.S. order to develop properly. The rate of development. in a warmer room to accelerate caves along the Straight River consumers continue rate of development is infl u- “No two cheeses are identi- the ripening of the cheese, up in Minnesota for brewing to be less concerned enced by its ripening or aging cal. Aging cheese is a constantly to 48-52 degrees Fahrenheit.” and storing beer. The largest with sodium intake. environment’s temperature, evolving practice that both Sommer notes that the natural cave (still in use today) For details, see page 19. the relative humidity and the cheesemakers and buyers higher the temperature, how- was enlarged in 1936, then degree of air circulation and are interested in because it ever, the faster the cheese will entirely new caves were hand ✦ June milk production up ventilation in combination with changes the product’s value cure, which can accelerate the hewn from the sandstone rock 2 percent from year earlier. the appropriate range of acidity and fl avor,” says Dean Som- ripening of “off” fl avors if the beginning in 1938, Jirik notes. For details, see page 23. (pH), moisture content and salt mer, senior management team, cheese is imperfect. Faribault Dairy Co. (now cheese & food technologist with In other words, aging does known as Caves of Faribault) the Wisconsin Center for Dairy not make a bad cheese better. was founded in June 2001 to Research (CDR), Madison, Wis. “Once you get above 50 revitalize the caves after an Agropur will acquire Davisco “Cheese aging and fl avor and degrees Fahrenheit, there can eight-year dormancy, he adds. texture development is very be gas formation issues in the While the company previ- Foods, double U.S. operations complex. There are still a lot cheese. Temperature control is ously did the bulk of its aging of unknowns.” very particular,” Sommer adds. on wood surfaces, Jirik says LE SUEUR, Minn. — Canadian dairy cooperative Agropur and U.S.- A few degrees can make Jaeggi says cheeses like Par- today most of the cheeses are based cheese and dairy ingredients company Davisco Foods this week a world of difference in how mesan also can have issues with aged in special forms, either announced they have entered into an agreement for Agropur to acquire quickly flavor develops in fast curing, such as the accelera- baskets or trays depending on the dairy processing assets of Davisco. The transaction is expected to aging cheeses, so the curing tion of enzymatic browning. the type of cheese. close Aug. 1, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. temperature is very important, He notes that other cheeses, Jirik says that while using This acquisition will double Agropur’s U.S. processing operations Sommer notes. such as Swiss, typically are aged plastic forms allows for easy and will increase its global milk intake by 50 percent. It includes three “We’ve experimented with at lower temperatures near 35 cleanability of surfaces as Davisco cheese processing factories in Le Sueur, Minn.; Jerome, Idaho; a cheese, curing half of it at degrees Fahrenheit. well as stacking effi ciency, by and Lake Norden, S.D. It also includes an ingredients plant in Nicollet, 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the The surface the cheese is Turn to AGING, page 22 a Minn.; the Friendly Confi nes Cheese Shoppe in Le Sueur, Minn.; and sales offi ces in Eden Prairie, Minn.; Shanghai (China Sales Offi ce); Singapore (Southeast Asia Sales Offi ce); and Geneva, Switzerland (Europe Sales Offi ce); as well as distribution centers in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Tianjin, China. Wis. raw milk appeal lost; Emmi Roth will “I am excited about this opportunity and what it affords our suppli- expand New York ers, customers and most importantly, our employees,” says Jon Davis, other access laws debated yogurt operations Davisco CEO. “Davisco and Agropur have built, over 70 years, very MADISON, Wis. — As judges make decisions in two cases involv- similar cultures. Along with all of Davisco’s management team, I look ing raw milk farmers in the Midwest, laws regarding raw milk PENN YAN, N.Y. — New forward to becoming part of the Agropur family and I am very excited access in other U.S. states as well as in other countries continue York Gov. Andrew Cuomo about what the future holds. These are exciting times, and it will be a to be examined. recently announced that tremendous pleasure and an honor to be part of Agropur going forward.” Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger, who last year Emmi Roth USA is ex- Davisco is headquartered in Le Sueur, Minn., and has 900 employees. was found guilty of violating a holding order to prohibit him from panding its operations and The company processes 3.8 billion pounds of milk and produces more selling or distributing raw milk and other items from his farm retaining its workforce in than 375 million pounds of cheese and 180 million pounds of whey to members of a buying club, last week lost his appeal against Orangeburg, N.Y., and Penn ingredients annually. the conviction. Yan, N.Y., in addition to Earlier this month, Agropur announced the purchase of Sobeys’ dairy In May 2013, Hershberger was found guilty on one count for creating 50 new positions activities and the acquisition of Northumberland Dairy Cooperative’s violating the holding order issued by the Wisconsin Department in Penn Yan. Emmi Penn dairy and food distribution assets, both in Canada. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in 2010. He was Yan will acquire production “With over US$1 billion in annual sales, this acquisition is by far the fi ned $1,000 plus $513 in court assessments. (See “Wis. raw milk equipment and expand its largest transaction in Agropur’s 76-year history,” says Agropur President dairy farmer fi ned $1,000” in the June 21, 2013, issue of Cheese existing structure in order to a Turn to DAVISCO, page 11 Turn to RAW, page 16 a Turn to EMMI, page 11 a Reprinted with permission from the July 25, 2014, edition of CHEESE MARKET NEWS®© Copyright 2014 Quarne Publishing LLC; PH: (509) 962-4026; www.cheesemarketnews.com 2 CHEESE MARKET NEWS® — July 25, 2014 MARKET INDICATORS Chicago Mercantile Exchange Cash prices for the week ended July 25, 2014 CHEESE FUTURES* for the week ending July 24, 2014 (Listings for each day by month, settling price and open interest) Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 Fri., July 18 Mon., July 21 Tues., July 22 Wed., July 23 Thurs., July 24** JUL14 2.041 1,595 2.043 1,595 2.043 1,595 2.043 1,595 2.042 1,584 Cheese Barrels AUG14 2.025 1,479 2.037 1,468 2.059 1,459 2.075 1,483 2.058 1,468 Price $2.0700 $2.0700 $2.0325 $1.9975 $1.9525 SEP14 1.954 1,411 1.960 1,416 1.991 1,412 2.012 1,419 2.000 1,391 Change NC NC -3 3/4 -3 1/2 -4 1/2 OCT14 1.930 1,378 1.930 1,385 1.950 1,384 1.966 1,386 1.958 1,386 NOV14 1.905 1,504 1.905 1,539 1.910 1,544 1.915 1,543 1.915 1,538 Cheese 40-lb. block DEC14 1.888 1,810 1.882 1,834 1.900 1,837 1.900 1,838 1.900 1,838 Price JAN15 1.847 539 1.833 574 1.830 577 1.835 577 1.850 587 $2.0275 $2.0300 $2.0400 $1.9875 $1.9700 FEB15 1.822 438 1.810 468 1.810 471 1.810 471 1.820 489 Change NC +1/4 +1 -5 1/4 -1 3/4 MAR15 1.815 513 1.809 550 1.810 553 1.810 553 1.819 563 APR15 1.808 396 1.808 424 1.808 428 1.808 432 1.817 449 Weekly average (July 21-25): Barrels: $2.0245(-.0170); 40-lb.