Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) presented Bucks County Farm Bureau member Dr. Jim Diamond with the 2021 Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award during the farm organization’s 71st Annual Meeting in Hershey.
The award is presented to an individual whose dedicated work and service has significantly contributed to the advancement of Pennsylvania agriculture.
“I was just elated, I was at a loss for words,” said Dr. Diamond, when told he had won. “I like the title of that award because it’s my contribution to agriculture – not just in Pennsylvania – but the whole world.”
Diamond, who was born and raised on his family’s beef farm in Fayette County, spent nearly 60 years teaching agriculture in Pennsylvania and around the world. Over his accomplished career, he was a vocational agriculture instructor at Upper Bucks County Area Vocational Technical School, an assistant professor of agricultural education at Penn State University, an international agricultural and extension education consultant for the United Nations, a Peace Corps volunteer, and from 1999 until 2008, he served as the Dean of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley University.
“Dr. Diamond has a true passion for teaching agriculture to students here in Pennsylvania, and to people around the world,” said PFB President Rick Ebert. “He is extremely knowledgeable and has a lifetime of experiences traveling the globe and preparing generations of farmers for their own careers in agriculture. With the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award, we recognize the vast contributions Dr. Diamond has made on behalf of Pennsylvania farmers and the agricultural community.”
Throughout his teaching career, Dr. Diamond was also a sheep farmer, and has held board positions with multiple agricultural associations, including Bucks County Farm Bureau.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.