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Annual Hopkins Farm visit a treat for young students

State’s largest dairy farm near Lewes has opened gates for tours the past 33 years
As young students gather around, Kyle Morris, a member of Hollymount 4-H, talks about show sheep Salt and Pepper.
Ron MacArthur
May 30, 2019

Each spring for the past 33 years, the Hopkins family has allowed thousands of young students to tour their Green Acres Farm dairy farm off Route 9 near Lewes.

Dating back to 1942, the fourth-generation farm is one of the few remaining and the largest dairy farm in the state with more than 1,000 Holstein cows. More than 500 cows are milked 365 days a year, producing 12 million pounds of milk annually. In 2008, the Hopkins Farm Creamery opened it doors below the iconic green-and-white silo.

On May 14, 15 and 16, more than 800 prekindergarten to second-grade students from Sussex County and Kent County schools took part in the tour, which ends with an ice cream treat. The event is sponsored by the Hopkins family, Sussex County 4-H and University of Delaware Cooperative Extension.

As young students gather around, Kyle Morris, a member of Hollymount 4-H, talks about show sheep Salt and Pepper.
Students enjoy Hopkins ice cream after their tour of the farm.
Master Gardner James Brown takes on the role of Mr. McGregor to talk about healthy vegetables, and especially those preferred by rabbits such as Peter.
Young students crowd in to pet chicks at one of the most popular stops on the farm tour.
Mariah Rogers dishes up chocolate and vanilla ice cream at Hopkins Farm Creamery.
It’s time to take a tractor ride around the Hopkins dairy farm.
4-H’er Beth Krajewski lets students pet a 2-month-old Holstein calf.
Luke Hopkins holds a mini-mancha goat for young farm visitors to pet.
L.J. Wyman, a Lake Forest kindergarten student, gets to the bottom of a dish of ice cream.
Hopkins’ cows seem oblivious to the crowds of young students touring the farm.

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