William Thiele, owner of Thiele Dairy Farm in Jefferson Township, was among the dairy farmers present in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Jan. 14, when the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump. It passed in Congress late last year. Butler Eagle File Photo

A Butler County farmer found himself behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Jan. 14, as President Donald Trump signed a bill that will directly affect his livelihood.

William Thiele, who owns Thiele Dairy Farm in Jefferson Township, was among the dairy farmers present when the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act became law. It passed Congress late last year.

The act permits schools enrolled in the National School Lunch Program to serve whole and 2% milk to students again after those products were banned for more than a decade under the President Barack Obama-era Hunger-Free Kids Act.

“With me being a dairy farmer, it’s vitally important to me,” Thiele said. “It’s an experience that I’ll for sure never forget. I’m very thankful for all the people who helped put it together for me.”

As the director of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau District 15, Thiele received an initial call Monday to gauge his interest before going through a brief screening process.

He was notified on Tuesday that he was selected as one of several farmers from across the nation who were invited to the White House.

As part of the visit, he had the chance to meet Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“I know some of those things are very short notice, but thankfully I was able and willing to go,” said Thiele, who served as the commonwealth’s representative.

Thiele said the move will hopefully push school districts to provide healthier and better tasting options to students in the coming years.

“Milk has been proven time and time again that it is so vitally important for the growth of children,” he said. “That’s the main goal in all of this.”

With the number of options on the market right now, Thiele said milk prices are being artificially depressed. However, he hopes the law could change consumers’ preferences and have a positive ripple effect down the supply chain.

“Instead of the average consumer drinking a half gallon for their household in a week, maybe it turns into a gallon,” he said. “Hopefully, it has a snowball effect and that will eventually help producers like myself because there’ll be more people wanting whole milk.”