The Honorable Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson has been a steady voice for the dairy community since 2008, when he first stepped foot in Washington, D.C., to represent Pennsylvania
15th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. In recognition of his dedicated support of the dairy industry, Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson has been selected as Holstein Association USA’s 2024 Distinguished Leadership Award recipient.
U.S. Rep. Thompson comes from a long line of dairy farmers and grew up spending time on his grandparents’ farms. He says a love for dairy is in his DNA and his family connection fuels his enthusiastic support of the dairy industry across the U.S.
“It starts with my family roots and knowing how hard farmers work,” says Congressman Thompson. “It’s also the impact the dairy industry has on jobs and the economy. In my home state of Pennsylvania, agriculture is the number one industry and dairy is the number one commodity.”
Thompson proudly serves as chair of the House Agriculture Committee, working to advance the next farm bill. He has traveled the country conducting listening sessions to inform this critical piece of legislation.
Thompson enthusiastically shares his dairy love and knowledge with his fellow policymakers on the House Agriculture Committee and beyond. He has authored and championed The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act — working diligently to earn support in the House of Representatives. The act passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support in December 2023.
Thompson has also been instrumental in updating and modernizing the dairy margin coverage program in the farm bill, building dairy incentives into nutrition programs, and working to improve dairy export markets.
Another one of his priorities is investing in research facilities at land grant universities — which support the future of the agricultural industry.
Thompson believes everyone has a responsibility to tell the story of agriculture and the dairy community. He lives out this truth each day, as he shares his talents and dairy knowledge with people from all walks of life.
“I’m just thrilled. What an honor to receive this award,” Thompson says. “My grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and great uncles, they have to be smiling. I’m just very grateful and very humbled to receive this recognition.”
About the Award
The Distinguished Leadership Award recognizes an individual who has made a career of providing outstanding and unselfish leadership for the betterment of the dairy industry. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson will be recognized with this honor during the 2024 National Holstein Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.