LEWES, Del.- Heading down Dairy Farm Road, there is open land on both sides.
The Hopkins family says new houses will not sprout up on the land but fruits and vegetables will.
In the past, a staple of the farm that anyone could see if they went there or drove by was the cows. The farm used to have 400 of them. But the pandemic presented some challenges to the point where the cows were sent to New York. Only one day of milking was missed during their transfer.
"We've been upgrading and patching the current infrastructure that we had," Amy Hopkins said. "For instance, our milking parlor has been going straight for almost 80 years nonstop. So we saw this as an opportunity to rebuild and start fresh so the next five generations of Hopkins can be farmers in this community."
Ingrid and Amy Hopkins say the opportunities are endless for what can be done on the farm to make experiences for families memorable. That includes bringing back some of the cows. They also want to show live births, teach about animals, and have visitors see how fruits and vegetables grow.
"The Hopkins have a very strong tradition of farmland preservation," Ingrid said. "We are about a thousand acres of a farm that we are going to continue to farm and will continue to support the family as we develop the tourism part. As stewards to the land, we just want to show the community that farming is still the number one industry in Delaware."
Even though all of these changes will be happening on the farm, Hopkins Creamery is here to stay so you can still come to the same location and get some delicious ice cream. Visitors will be able to get an inside scoop into how it is made.
"You'll be able to in the new facility be able to see into the production area where we are actually making the ice cream so again it's about that experience," Amy said. "It's not just coming and eating the ice cream but watching it being made as well."
The Hopkins Heartland wedding venues are also continuing to grow.
Ingrid says that the family plans to bring some events to the farm this fall including a farmer's market but the master plan is going to take about three years.