Pennsylvania agricultural secretary Russell Redding, left, talks with farmer William Thiele and other attendees at a Butler County Farm Bureau Legislative Farm Tour at CNC Malt's grain malting facility in the old Clearfield Township Elementary School.

Awards and honors were bestowed on members of the Butler County Farm Bureau at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau's annual meeting held in Hershey last week.

In what could be a first for the county, William Thiele of the Thiele Dairy Farm in Cabot was elected to the state farm bureau board of directors.

County and state bureau officials said no one from the county has served on the state board in recent history, and Thiele could be the first.

Thiele quickly jumped in by attending a board meeting Thursday, the day after the three-day annual meeting ended.

“Overall, it went very well. I'm looking forward to making decisions,” said Thiele, who believes the county has been represented on the state board sometime in the past.

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Evelyn Minteer