State Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding got an up-close and personal look on Friday at how state agricultural grants are being spent — and he was impressed.

After enjoying a breakfast with county farmers at American Legion Post 778, Redding and his entourage proceeded to Broad Street and Summit Township elementary schools before visiting the Thiele dairy farm on North Pike Road in Jefferson Township.

At Summit Township elementary, Redding was greeted by four smiling students and a bucket of scraps for the school’s compost heap.

“I feel like it’s going to be an honor that makes all of us feel special,” fourth-grader Isaac McCance said before Redding’s visit.

Redding arrived with state representatives Marci Mustello, R-11th, and Scott Hutchinson, R-21st; Brian White, Butler Area School District superintendent; Dave Andrews, the district’s instructional coach for student engagement; Leslie Osche, county commissioners chairwoman; and others.

The students and their principal, Chad Broman, lead the group around the school to showcase the many and varied agriculture projects going on inside and outside of the school.

Redding learned the difference between the school’s hydroponics and aquaponics growing systems; saw the duck and chicken eggs being incubated by students under a teacher’s watchful guidance; ate a cherry tomato from a cluster of plants growing in a hallway; heard about the school’s weather journal that is filled out each day by students; and how “ag kits” are sent to all seven schools in the district so all students in kindergarten through fifth grade can learn about agriculture.

In one classroom, students took turns reading facts about the rainbow trout the class raised from larva to fingerlings, which they released in a nearby stream.

The students created a slide presentation to go along with the trout facts they shared with a beaming Redding.

Broman said the food for the tiny fish — which looks like coffee — was kept in the staff lunchroom.

“We told everybody, you cannot eat that,” he said.

Andrews added that the fishery science program allows students up to 12th grade to work with trout in seven tanks located in four schools in the district.

“The kids really get a chance to connect with fishery science the whole way through,” he said.

One of the fourth-grade hosts told Redding the fish water is used to moisten the soil in which the hydroponic lettuce grows, as the fish waste fertilizes the soil.

The group then moved outside into the breeze and chilly drizzle to view the school’s compost piles, tilled field, tractor, weather station, apple and berry orchard, rain garden, large greenhouse, and outdoor classroom.

Redding engaged heartily with the students, asking them questions about all the ag-based projects at the school and receiving intelligent answers.

He said the school integrates a lot of individual pieces of agriculture into the curriculum to connect schools and agriculture.

“They bring them together here,” Redding said. “It’s really nice. Great job.”

He said Pennsylvania is the only state with its own farm bill.

“When we envision the farm bill, these are the types of things we wanted to do,” he said of Summit’s many ag-based projects.

Redding said the agricultural education students in the Butler district receive from kindergarten through 12th grade is very important.

“There’s an immediate benefit to be a student in this environment, to learn through each grade about food and agriculture,” he said. “Long-term, I think they’ll become better citizens and consumers.

“To me, there are 1,000 lessons throughout this school.”

White said Redding is passionate about agriculture in curriculum and makes sure students have access to curriculum on the importance of agriculture in Pennsylvania.

“It was an honor to host him,” White said. “He’s very, very engaging.”

Mustello said the tours are a great way to demonstrate how grants are used.

“I’m so pleased he was able to make time to see how grant funding is spent,” she said.

Hutchinson said Redding makes it a point to come to Western Pennsylvania as often as possible.

“We are thrilled to have the secretary back,” Hutchinson said. “The kids get to realize prominent people are not separate from them.”

He was extremely impressed with Isaac and the three other fourth-grade tour guides, who confidently and with great knowledge answered all Redding’s questions.

At the neat-as-a-pin Thiele farm, Redding told the fifth- and sixth-generation farmers he recognized their farm from a Pennsylvania Farm Bureau video he had seen.

Edward Thiele told Redding the farm was established in 1868 by his ancestors.

“We’re rooted pretty deep here, and I don’t pull up roots that deep,” Thiele said.

He said the dairy farm milks 40 head of cattle and has a total of 85.

Corn, oats, soybeans, alfalfa and other grains are grown on the farm, mainly to feed the Thiele cattle.

Some are sold as well, Thiele said.

He said no tilling machines can be found at the farm, as the Thiele operation is 100% no-till to preserve the quality and quantity of soil.

“My goal is that the ground my kids get will be better than it was when I got it,” Thiele said.

He said his grown sons, twins William and James, use a drone to survey the 153-acre farm, much to Redding’s delight.

A drone allows a view of any bare spots in the fields, which cannot be seen by driving past.

The Thieles also can survey the fences to ensure no trees have fallen on them.

Thiele also discussed with Redding the state tax credits farmers can access.

Thiele said he has purchased large farming implements at half price because the tax credits paid the other half.

“I’ve told fellow farmers about it, too,” he said.