La Qunita, Calif. (February 12, 2025)—The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives today honored two outstanding farmer co-op leaders at its annual meeting in La Quinta, Calif. Joe Diglio, president and CEO of Michigan Milk Producers Association, was named the 2025 Robert B. Engel Farmer Co-op Manager of the year. Tim Burke, a farmer from Monticello, Ind., who serves on the board of Keystone Cooperative, was named as the 2025 Farmer Cooperative Director of the Year.
“I would like to congratulate both Joe and Tim on this well-deserved recognition of their exemplary leadership of farmer co-ops at the management and board levels,” said Chuck Conner, president and CEO of NCFC. “Both of these awards are meant to recognize outstanding contributions to not just individual co-ops, but to the co-op community as a whole. I can think of no better winners this year than Joe and Tim.”
Diglio has worked for MMPA for over three decades and has served as CEO of the co-op for the last 10. In that time, he has diversified revenue streams, made key strategic investments, and has bolstered the patronage returned to co-op members.
Burke served as chairman of one of Keystone’s predecessor co-ops. In that role, he helped lead the board and membership through two strategic merges that have made Keystone the largest privately-owned business in the state of Indiana.
In addition to the recognition at NCFC’s Annual Meeting, each award comes with contributions made in the winner’s name to a local 501(c)3 charity—in the case of the Robert B. Engel award—or a land grant college or university—for the Director of the Year award.
