Waterloo, WI — Crave Brothers is not just a product name: There really is a family behind the award-winning Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese—and their business has just won the Grand Award for the Wisconsin Family Business of the Year in the medium-size company category.
The award celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of Wisconsin family businesses. It was founded and is sponsored by Smith and Gesteland, LLP, a Madison-based CPA and consulting firm, First Business Bank, and Husch Blackwell, a law firm with three Wisconsin locations.
Since 1980, the Crave family has lived and worked in the Waterloo area. Today, the Crave Brothers Farm LLC and Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese LLC business involves four brothers, Charles, Tom, Mark, George and his wife Debbie, Charles’ daughter-in-law, Beth Crave, three members of the younger generation, Jordan, Andrew and Patrick; and 86-year-old Bob Crave who contributes daily labor and provides expert woodworking skills.
To select Wisconsin Family Business of the Year winners, an independent panel of judges uses the following selection criteria: Contributions the family business makes to its community and industry, positive links between family and business, and the innovative practices of the family business. To learn more about this year’s award winners, visit the website at www.familybusinessaward.com.
The Crave family is active in local, county, state, national and international agricultural communities, providing leadership, expertise and financial support. The Crave Brothers also are actively involved in numerous local and county boards. Their commitment to sustainability benefits the community, too. A decade ago, the Crave Brothers installed a bio digester to turn waste into energy. Today, their carbon-negative business produces more energy than it consumes—enough to power the dairy farm, cheese-making plant and 300 homes in their community.
The Crave Brothers continue to win state, national and international cheese awards, and they have traveled the world to share their dairy management techniques. In 2009, the farm hosted Wisconsin’s Farm Technology Days and attracted more than 50,000 visitors to their operation. Most recently, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese earned two Best of Class Awards in the 2017 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest for its Fresh Mozzarella and Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Curds.
To learn more about Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, its green power initiative, and its award-winning product line, visit the website at www.cravecheese.com.
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The Crave family farms 2,500 acres of productive land in south-central Wisconsin, growing soybeans, corn and alfalfa to use as nutritious feed for their Holstein cows. From the manure digester to water recovery, sustainability is top-of-mind on the farm. Every pound of cheese made by George Crave, a licensed cheese maker, is made with milk from the family’s herd.
Source: Crave Brothers
