Craig Beane, age 86, passed away on Friday, Dec. 5, 2008, after a long and rewarding life. He was grateful for all that farming gave him and his family and served agriculture in many ways at local, state, and national levels. Craig and his family co-hosted the 1956 Wisconsin Farm Progress Days, opening their farm to about 60,000 people over three days. From this experience Craig and his family developed lifelong friendships and partnerships with UW-Extension and UW-Madison agricultural specialists. Holwis Farms became a practical research center for many trials and innovations. He was a founder and first president of the National Dairy Herd Improvement Association, Inc., and served on the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s Animal and Animal Products Advisory Committee under Secretaries Freeman and Hardin and on many advisory committees, including those for UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, USDA Forage Lab, and U.S. Senator Robert Kasten. The UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences honored Craig and Laura with an outstanding service award in 1971. He testified many times in Washington, advocating to establish the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison and the UW Veterinary School.
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