The first thing most visitors see as they draw near to the fresh cheese plant operated by Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese LLC is a colorful, hand-painted 52-square-foot mural depicting the unique farm-to-consumer journey of the family-run company’s products. Back in 2018, Rosemont, Ill.-based Dairy Management Inc. selected the Waterloo, Wis., farmstead cheese plant as one of only seven locations across the nation to get such a mural.
The mural is front and center on the newest addition to the 40,000-square-foot cheesemaking facility, which was completed in 2017. Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese says the mural captures the story of the environmentally conscious Crave family and the family values that drive its business. The operation the mural depicts is truly farmstead, encompassing an on-site farm with sustainable feed-crop farming practices and 2,000 or so “pampered” dairy cows, a handcrafted cheesemaking process that starts with hours-old fresh milk, and expedient transport to customers — and, ultimately, consumers.