[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E25-E26]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING DAVE WILLIAMS FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL 
                              BROADCASTING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MATT CARTWRIGHT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 11, 2022

  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dave Williams 
for his two decades of service to the Pennsylvania agricultural 
community as a farm broadcaster, owner of the Pennsylvania Farm Country 
& American Farm County Radio Network, and producer of Pennsylvania 
Country Roads TV. In February 2021, he received the 2021 Gerald W. 
Reichard Impact Award from the Pennsylvania Farm Show, and he received 
the Barn Raiser Award at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau's 71st Annual 
Meeting on November 16, 2021.
  Dave was born in Wayne County, Pennsylvania and raised on a five-
generation family farm in Cherry Ridge. At age twelve, he took over a 
herd of 30 dairy cows and was active in 4-H. Dave then joined the 
military, and, after his service, he helped manage a 5,000-acre cattle 
ranch in Texas. With his late wife, Melba, he leased a 50-acre mule 
farm while working in the oil drilling business.
  When he returned to Wayne County, he worked as a fleet manager in the 
trucking industry while returning to his agricultural roots on the 
weekends, farming and raising sheep and cows. He was named the 
president of the Pocono Mountains Antique Farm Association, doing shows 
at local fairs.
  In the fall of 1998, Marilyn Shaffer of the Wayne County Farm Bureau, 
who was a fellow member of the antique machinery club, asked Dave to do 
a radio show for Honesdale's radio station. Dave pitched his idea for a 
radio show that would not only target farmers and their concerns but 
also the consumers who buy and eat the food. The station gave Dave the 
green light, and his first show featured Leroy Van Dyke, a popular 
country singer, as his initial guest. The show would go on to host 
state and federal legislators, governors, and state agricultural 
officials.
  One of the highlights of his program is the ``heartland stories'' 
from farmers themselves, and Davie shares his own stories of growing up 
on and managing his family's farm. Dave is especially skilled at 
building a rapport with farmers and encouraging them to use their voice 
and the radio show platform to share their successes and concerns, 
helping consumers understand the agricultural process.
  Dave joined the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau first as an officer and 
later as state director, and he served as a state delegate to the 
American Farm Bureau Association, through which he met Orion Samuelson, 
host of U.S. Farm Report, who told him he needed to be a National Farm 
Broadcaster. Dave then joined the National Association of Farm 
Broadcasting (NAFB), and later hosted Samuelson on his show. After 
connecting with Pennsylvania Cable Network at the Pennsylvania Farm 
Show, he was invited to have his own show on the network which reaches 
an audience of 3.5 million.
  I am honored to recognize Dave for his storied broadcasting career. 
His work has contributed immeasurably to the visibility of the 
agricultural community both in Pennsylvania and across the country, and 
I am grateful for his

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efforts to champion farmers' voices. I wish him continued success with 
his broadcasting and agricultural endeavors.

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