Joe Diamond, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau regional organization director for Region 4, is seen with Deborah Hommer, a professor in the business department at Penn State Altoona. Mirror photo by Walt Frank

If you enjoy your job, why look for something else?

That’s been the philosophy of Joe Diamond, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau regional organization director for Region 4 which includes Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Huntingdon, Indiana and Somerset counties.

Diamond, of Bellwood, has been in that position for 32 years.

“The average time for a regional director is five years, to have 32 years is very uncommon. There is only one other staff member at Farm Bureau who has more tenure than I do and he is in the computer department,” Diamond said. “Three regional directors weren’t born yet when I started with the Farm Bureau.”

Diamond, 57, grew up on a dairy farm — Diamond’s Dairy — near Masontown in Fayette County.

He graduated from Albert Gallatin High School in 1986 and from Delaware Valley College in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness.

Diamond said he wanted to find a job in agriculture.

“I thought I wanted to be the secretary of agriculture. I grew up on a dairy farm with two older brothers Louie and Paul, they are still there milking cows,” Diamond said.

He said he thought about staying at the family farm but his parents said “the farm was not big enough for another person and that I needed to find a job somewhere else,” Diamond said.

He wanted to get a job with Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, but because his brother Louie was working as an accountant for the bureau, they would not hire him because of nepotism.

He then landed a job as a field service representative with the Maryland Farm Bureau near Hagerstown and remained there for four years.

“My brother left the accounting department and they offered me his job; I didn’t want to be an accountant. But this position opened up and I applied for the job and got it,” Diamond said.

Diamond’s role as regional organization director is to help county farm bureaus to develop and carry out farm bureau programs that will help members to maintain a strong, effective organization, which will meet the needs and to promote the philosophy, policies and basic concepts of the county, state and national organizations, and do programs that will help make them successful.

He spends a lot of time on the road — he recently passed one million miles traveling for farm bureau duties — and attends all meetings of the various county farm bureaus in his region.

He is well-respected by otters in the agriculture community.

“He has been a loyal and dedicated employee and advocate for farmers and agriculture for over 30 years. I have gotten to know him well and consider him a good friend,” said President Marty Yahner of the Cambria County Farm Bureau.

“Joe has a deep love for agriculture and helping farmers succeed. He has had a huge impact, almost immeasurable on the farming community. What he has done for agriculture at the local, state and national levels is amazing. He is one of the state’s number one advocates for agriculture. Joe has been a tremendous friend to farmers and what he has accomplished is truly amazing,” said Cambria County farmer Tommy Nagle, vice president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

“I’ve known Joe for 22 years. We worked together as RODs. Joe is a kind and compassionate advocate for agriculture. He had developed many great relationships in agriculture throughout Pennsylvania and he’s developed strong leaders to be the voice of agriculture. Joe is a valuable resource for all farmers in his region of Pennsylvania,” said Todd Bailey, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau chief administrative officer.

Gary Long, former president of the Blair County Farm Bureau, has known Diamond for more than 30 years.

Long’s father Frank was county farm bureau president when Diamond started his job.

“He would come to my parents home, one of his jobs was to work with the presidents before their meetings. He is very professional in how he does his job, he is very dedicated to his job, he is very dedicated to the farmers,” Long said. “He is like the middle man between corporate and the farmers to make sure the counties are doing what the state wants done. If a problem exists at the county level, he is the go-between. He takes what the farm bureau wants done back to the local farmers. He does this extremely well, he goes above and beyond his job title.”

Diamond said what he enjoys most about his job is the people he works with.

“The people I work with are the best people there are, the farmers of Pennsylvania. I enjoy helping them be successful. I enjoy seeing some people who come onto the county boards a little timid and bashful blossom into really good leaders,” Diamond said.

Diamond said he enjoys working with young people.

“I enjoy working with FFA chapters, that has been a lot of fun. I see students from their first year to when they graduate and how they have progressed and matured,” Diamond said.

He said he gets calls from people interested in agriculture and participates in career fairs.

“Less than 2 percent of the population is involved in production agriculture, 10 percent are in support jobs. I encourage students to get into support jobs rather than production agriculture,” Diamond said. “Give it a try, there are opportunities in agriculture and will continue to be opportunities. In ten years, there may be different opportunities to get into production agriculture or support agriculture. Technology is changing agriculture, we need folks who can develop it and service it as well.”

Diamond is involved with numerous organizations. He serves on the board of directors of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce and is chairman of the Farm City Committee. He is a member of both Bedford and Somerset County Chambers of Commerce Ag Committees and serves on the AgrAbility Advisory Committee, Altoona Blair County Development Corporation Ag Committee and others.

“It is important to be involved. I need to have relationships in the role I am in, it is a relationship business. You have to build relationships with farm bureau leaders or you will not be successful. Agriculture depends on the community, we need that community support,” Diamond said.

Stephen McKnight, president/CEO of the Blair County Alliance for Business and Economic Growth, said the Chamber and ABCD Corp. have worked with Diamond for more than 20 years.

“Joe is our ‘go-to’ expert on all things agriculture and farming. He brings valued knowledge of the Ag market and supply chain here in Blair County and statewide. The farming system and crop production processes have advanced in recent years and are very complex. Joe has helped us develop new strategies and approaches to maintain and grow this sector, which remains Blair’s largest industry output,” McKnight said.

Diamond said right now the economy is the biggest challenge facing farmers.

“Right now, commodity prices are low and input costs are high. The siege in the Middle East is going to have a major impact on agriculture. Fertilizer costs are up 50 percent, diesel fuel prices are up over a dollar more per gallon,” Diamond said. “It is happening at the worst time of the year, when farmers are putting stuff in the ground.”

Farming has changed and will continue to change.

“I have been with the farm bureau for 32 years. When I started, we had few farmers using no-till farming, today I don’t deal with a farmer not using it. In Cambria County when I started, there were more than 30 potato growers, there are less than a half dozen now. There were no soy beans in the area, now there are a lot. It has changed a lot. You lose one commodity and another one comes in, it is cyclical,” Diamond said.

Diamond said he has no plans to retire.

“I like what I do. Uncle Sam says my retirement date won’t happen for a while. As long as I can keep doing what I am doing I will be happy to do it,” Diamond said.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.

The Diamond file

Name: Joe Diamond

Age: 57

Position: Pennsylvania Farm Bureau regional organization director for Region 4 which includes Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Huntingdon, Indiana and Somerset counties.

Education: Albert Gallatin High School, 1986; Delaware Valley College, 1990, bachelor’s degree in agribusiness

Family: Wife, Betty Lynn; daughter, Alexandra.

Quote: “Like every other career there are bumps in the road. I really enjoy what I do.”