George Crave is President of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, LLC. He oversees the plant management and cheese production. George is a licensed cheesemaker and has traveled to Italy, France and Switzerland to study cheesemaking and affinage.
George and his family own Crave Brothers Dairy Farm. For over 20 years George was in charge of the dairy herd and milk quality at Crave Brothers Dairy Farm. In 2001 he began managing the building and development of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese. In 2002 the farmstead cheese factory was completed and the first cheese production began.
George is a 1978 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Farm & Industry Shortcourse. George served on the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension & Teaching (CARET) for the UW-Madison College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. He is a founding member of the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin. George is a member of the Wisconsin Cheesemaker’s Association and the Wisconsin Specialty Cheese Institute.
George and his brothers were recognized in 2008 as World Dairy Expo Dairymen of the Year, in 2010 by the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association as Advocates of the Year, in 2017 as Wisconsin Family Business of the Year and in 2020 as Wisconsin Master Agriculturists. They hosted the 2009 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, a three-day outdoor farm show with 80,000 attendees. In 2018 George was inducted into the Guilde Internationale Des Fromagers. George is a 4-H leader and member of Holy Family Catholic Church. He and his wife Debbie have three children – Patrick, Brian and Roseanne and one grandson – Dominic Crave.
Debbie Crave is Vice President of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, LLC (CBFC). She manages administration, marketing/sales, and public relations for CBFC.
Debbie Crave was selected as the 1981-82 Alice in Dairyland, and in that position she worked as a marketing specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). She continued working for the Marketing Division of DATCP for 15 years. Among positions she held was Director for the International Agri-Business Center, where she traveled with the Governor on overseas trade missions promoting Wisconsin agriculture and exports. She worked closely with the other Midwestern State Departments of Agriculture on many agricultural marketing and promotional programs.
Debbie joined the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) in July, 1998, working in the Producer & Board Relations area and in Marketing as Director of Events/Communications.
She began working for Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, LLC in 2001.
Debbie graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry and Horticulture in 1981. She presently serves on the UW Madison College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Board of Visitors.
Past Board affiliations: World Dairy Expo Board, Thrive Board, CARET rep for UW Madison College of Agriculture, the Wisconsin Specialty Cheese Institute Board, and advisor to the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Board. She also served on the Wisconsin 4-H Foundation Board and the WALSAA (Wisconsin Ag& Life Sciences Alumni Association) Board.
Debbie was a 4-H leader for the Portland Boosters 4-H Club in Dodge County and past 4-H member from Turtle 4-H Club of Rock County. She was born and raised in Beloit, Wisconsin. Debbie and her husband George reside on the Crave Brothers Dairy Farm in Waterloo, Wisconsin. They have three children- Patrick, Brian and Roseanne, and one grandson-Dominic Crave.