The Hopkins Family, Walter and Jenny, son Burli and wife Allison, the fifth generation of Hopkinses, Michael, Jacob, Grace and Luke and a terrific staff representing Green Acres Farm and Hopkins Farm Creamery welcomed more than 1700 local school youth and hundreds of adults to their farm on Wed., May 8 and Thurs., May 9.The annual tour is a 27-year old partnership between the Hopkins family and Cooperative Extension.
Staffed by 4-H agents, 4-H youth and adult volunteers, Cooperative Extension staff, and volunteers from Sussex County Master Gardeners, students tour Delaware’s largest dairy farm and receive a better understanding of how food is produced.Predicted rain and storms never arrived! The clouds parted, providing perfect days for leisurely strolling and visiting Extension exhibits. An occasional farm puddle was explored by those who came prepared with galoshes! Continued following photos…
Students, teachers and parents get to meet the family behind the farm, understand the hard work and dedication that goes into making food and experience authentic smells and textures of Delaware agriculture!
In addition to opening up their barn doors two days each year, since the opening of their creamery in 2008, Hopkins donates free child-sized cones to each student who registers through their school for the 4-H tour! Now that is a lot of scooping!! Thanks so much to the staff behind the creamery’s customer service windows!
Returning this year, was the award-winning puppet show, the Adventures of Peter Rabbit in Farmer McGregor’s Garden. Children delighted in watching Farmer McGregor chase down the rabbit who took all his vegetables! New this year were the puppet characters – Praying Mantis and Japanese Beetle – which explained to children that some insects are good and some are bad. Can you guess which is which?
Other highlights included watching chicks hatch from an incubator and gently holding day-old chicks. The fuzzy yellow puffballs sure were a hit! 4-H youth volunteers brought their project animals to share with visitors. Sheep, goats and egg-laying duck and some snorkeling pigs were favorite sights! Also a favorite attraction, a tractor ride around the farm, took a new route this year, slowly passing through the large cow barn. Some cows looked up from their breakfast to say hello and offer a curious “moo to their new guests!
The only scheduled part of the tour was the milking room. After some introductions to the youth by our visiting dairy princesses, the children and their escorts were taken to the milking room parlor where Burli or Ashley explained the modern milking process to guests. Children watched as the cows were cleaned and prepared and were able to follow the milk as it left the cow, was electronically measured, and sent through ubes to giant storage tanks where it is made into daiary products such as butter and ice cream. Green Acres farm has approximately 550 “milkers.” who are taken to the parlor three times every day. At Delaware’s largest dairy farm, there is no such thing as a day off!
The 4-H Spring Tour at Green Acres Farm is an epitome of partnership, expertise and volunteer spirit characteristic of the mission of Delaware Cooperative Extension to extend knowledge and change lives!
Special thanks to staff and volunteers for making this two-day event a highlight for 4-H, Extension and local school children! Master Gardeners: Gayle August, Betty Boettger, Jane Casazza, Jessica Clark, Cherie Dorfmann, Jerry Dorfmann, Wendy Ferranti, Lucy Fleming, Dixie Gildon, John Kennedy, Brent Marsh, Cindy Marvel, Marianne Metz, Fran Milio, Tracy Mulveny, Ila Myers, Mary Perkins, Maureen Ryan, Nancy Shaffer, Pat Sexton, Janet Strickler, and Susan Trone.
4-H Youth and Adult Volunteers: Holly, Joe, Paul and Sharon Anderson, Shawn Mitchell, Angel & David Magee, Emily & Savanna Stachow, Dairy Princess Melanie Jackson and Alternate Dairy Princess Emily Smith.
The Hopkins Family: Walter & Jenny, Allison & Burli, and 4-H members Grace, Luke, Jacob and Michael Hopkins and their many school friends who helped both days! A warm thank you to Hopkins Farm Creamery staff who scooped thousands of cones each day: Chelsea McHugh, Chelsea Rogers, Rodney Wilson, Veronica Messick and their manager Jake Hunt. Other Hopkins staff include herd managers Ashley Greenhawk and Bobby Geiman, tractor ride chauffeur Brandall, and all the staff at Green Acres Farm!
Safety: Ron Marshall and Delaware State Police officers Mendez,Burns,Argo and Cadets Troy and Royce.
Extension staff: Bill Brown, Anne Camasso, Dorothy Dobbyn, Lindsay Hughes, Mark Isaacs, Jill Jackson, Rita Lofland, Ernie Lopez, Mike Love, Bill McGowan, Tammy Schirmer, Barb Stephens, Michele Walfred, Bo Waller, Sharon Webb, Cory Whaley, and Tracy Wootten and our terrific farm staff for helping to set up tents, tables, chairs: Brian Hearn, Vic Green and Ward Harris.
See you again in 2014!