Wisconsin Ag Connection - Muench Honored as UWRF's Distinguished Agriculturalist

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Muench Honored as UWRF's Distinguished Agriculturalist
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 05/02/2017

A longtime Wisconsin meat processor has been honored by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Louis Muench, president of Louie's Finer Meats, Inc. in Cumberland, was named the 2017 Wisconsin Distinguished Agriculturalist by the school's College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

Louie's Finer Meats is well known in northwestern Wisconsin. Over the years, the company has won nearly 500 awards at state, national and international competitions for their meat products. Most of these awards were earned under the vision and management of Muench, the second generation to run this family business.

Last year' Louie's participated in the first international competition held in the U.S. through an alliance between the German Butcher's Association and the American Association of Meat Processors. Muench was also one of the first to use non-meat ingredients, and his Wisconsin Summer Sausage that incorporated cranberries, cheddar cheese, maple syrup and honey won the best-of-show award in 1991 from the Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors.

Muench has been inducted into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame and the National Cured Meats Hall of Fame, and was a member of the inaugural class of Wisconsin Master Meat Crafters. He has served as an invited judge for multiple state professional association competitions, and held elected office within state and national meat industry organizations. In July, he will assume the presidency of the American Association of Meat Processors.

The Wisconsin Distinguished Agriculturalist Award was established in 1970 to recognize individuals who have provided leadership, service and other contributions to the broader agricultural community.

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