Rex Laird, Executive Director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, noted that Thille’s “active participation in the management of her own groves and in agricultural organizations as well as her active promotion of the importance of agriculture in everyone’s life truly qualifies her as Co-op Farmer of the Year.”Thille has been featured twice in Agricultural Council of California print advertising campaigns and she was visited by popular PBS television personality Huell Howser to tell of her marigold to chicken feed recipe.Thille was chosen by the Ventura County Farm Bureau to serve on the U.C. Hansen Trust Advisory Board, which she also chaired. The advisory board oversees the trust, which owns historic Faulkner Farm and has turned it into an acclaimed agricultural education center, funded research, staged exotic pest conferences, and awarded grants to further the cause of agriculture.An Agricultural Council board director, Thille is also serving a four-year terms on the board of the Agricultural Issues Center at U.C. Davis. She was also appointed to the University of California President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture & Natural Resources, where she serves as an advisor to UC President Richard Atkinson on a variety of agricultural issues.Over 125 family members and friends were in attendance when Thille received the Co-op Farmer of the Year 2002 Award from Larry Starrh, Agricultural Council of California Chairman of the Board.The mission of the Agricultural Council of California, founded in 1919, is to vigorously promote and protect the interests of member cooperatives and the farmers and ranchers who own them.
Dorcas Thille honored as California Ag Council Co-op Farmer of the Year
April 12, 2002
Santa Paula News
Described as a grower who “Truly exemplifies what it means to be a farmer, not only in the 20th Century, but also in the 21st Century,” Dorcas Thille of Santa Paula was recently honored by the Agricultural Council of California as Co-op Farmer of the Year 2002.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesDescribed as a grower who “Truly exemplifies what it means to be a farmer, not only in the 20th Century, but also in the 21st Century,” Dorcas Thille of Santa Paula was recently honored by the Agricultural Council of California as Co-op Farmer of the Year 2002.The award is meant to publicly recognize and honor a farmer who has made significant or long-standing contributions to agricultural cooperatives through leadership, improvement and promotion, membership mobilization or a life’s work in service.“Dorcas is a great person and a great friend,” said Sunkist Public Relations Manager Claire Smith. “Dorcas has been highly active with Sunkist, Calavo, Saticoy Lemon Association, as well as many different associations. Dorcas is also very interested in educating non-farm people in the value of agriculture and has contributed greatly to that effort.”Thille “truly exemplifies the pioneer spirit of farming. Not only has she coped with the loss of two husbands and raised six children, she has managed to successfully run a large citrus and avocado farming operation on her own,” while being actively involved for decades in Santa Paula and the agricultural community at large.In addition, when “Dorcas saw a need for better health care in her community, she became a member of the Santa Paula Memorial Hospital development committee,” Smith noted. Subsequent to the hospital’s opening, Thille, “serving with other concerned citizens, participated in improving the hospital’s services and its ability to support the largely agricultural community,” of the Santa Clara River Valley.“Dorcas is a shining example of the farmer of the new millennium,” said Calavo President Lee Cole.
