More than 200 people attended the Hamilton County Farm Bureau's annual dinner, including Alex and Emily Murphy (bottom right), the Farm Family of the Year.

JASPER — A record crowd of more than 200 members and guests attended the Hamilton County Farm Bureau’s annual dinner.

Held at the VFW Post on Sept. 28, the annual dinner included a long list of distinguished speakers, who provided information on issues and bills facing farmers in the future.

The speakers included Cliff Starling, an environmental specialist with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Bob Hochmuth, the center director at the North Florida Research and Education Center-Suwannee Valley; Kevin Morgan, the assistant to the President of Florida Farm Bureau; Jason Davison, the field services director at FFB; Suwannee River Water Management’s Justin Garland, Ben Glass and Executive Director Hugh Thomas; Rachel Morgan, Florida Department of Agriculture’s Director of Federal Affairs; John Walt Boatwright, Farm Bureau’s Director of National Affairs; Hugh Hunter, the Florida Farm Service Agency’s county executive director; Keith Wynn and Greg Hicks with the Hamilton County UF/IFAS Extension Office; as well as Brian Mimbs, who works in the office for Commissioner of Agriculture candidate Denise Grimsley.

Also during the dinner, the Farm Bureau recognized Alex and Emily Murphy as the 2017 Hamilton County Farm Family of the Year. The Murphys were presented with a plaque from the Hamilton County Farm Bureau by President Damon Deas.

Finishing off the event was the annual cake auction to raise money to support the State Women’s Fund and local organizations.

The local FFA chapter helped with the event, from serving the meal to delivering cakes and door prizes to the members and guests.