Pioneer Farmer of the Year
DAVID MURRELL
TRF Pioneer Farmer of the Year, David Murrell
David Murrell is a third generation farmer. He was born to Wayne and Lucy Murrell of Winnie. His father, Wayne farmed rice in Winnie from the late 40s through 1984. During that time, David was attending East Chambers and graduated in 1972. After high school, he attended Texas A&M University and farmed with his dad during the summers. He earned a degree in Agronomy in 1976. After completing college, he moved back to Winnie to start a family and to farm full time. In 1977, he put his first crop in the ground. His dad, brother and he farmed rice and soybeans for many years and ran a small cattle operation of about 175 head. When his father passed in 1984, he and his brother continued the business until 1998, when his brother retired from farming which left David to continue the family business. He finally retired in 2020. David has been married to Dina Murrell for 44 years. They have two daughters together, Amanda and Megan, and 4 grandchildren. David has been an active member of the Texas Rice Festival and served the board for many years where he served as TRF President in 1998. In the past, he was heavily involved in serving many organization boards in town including past President of Little Dribblers, past President East Chambers Ex Student Organization, past President Chambers County Farm Bureau, past President W-S Noon Optimist, past board member of the Chambers County Appraisal District, past President East Chambers Ag Youth Committee and past President of the Winnie Rice Farmers Co-op. He is currently active with the W-S Noon Optimist Club, Chambers County Farm Bureau, current President Chambers County ESD 1 and currently still serving the TRF board. Over the years, David has been a faithful servant of our well-loved community where he has done countless fish fries, chili, and gumbo dinners for various organizations. Over the years, David has seen barrels per acre increase from about 25 to 60 due to laser leveling land and the advent of hybrid rice seed. David is very proud to represent the Texas Rice Festival as the 2023 Pioneer Farmer of the Year.
