Grass Farming with John Hopkins of Forks Farm

JACK'S FARM RADIO

John Hopkins and his wife own and operate Forks Farm. They have been in the local food and grass based meat business for a long time.

Here’s their story in their own words:

In 1992 we grew our first batch of pastured chickens for ourselves and a few friends. Since then our farm has evolved from a simple newsletter and order form for pastured foods to a community-supported farmer’s market. On market day you’ll meet other local farmers who share our desire for locally-grown, chemical-free, nutritious foods.

Through your purchases on market day you become an active participant in the development of a successful, local foodsystem. Every time you buy a dozen eggs here you are not just supporting Forks Farm. Your purchases extend to a dozen other local family farms, providing the glue that holds this local food system together.

The land of covered bridges

Our 85-acre farm lies just upstream from the “fork” between Huntington and Fishing Creeks here in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. This is also the site of the famous “Twin Covered Bridges,” the only twin covered bridges in the United States. There are twenty-three of these historic covered bridges nestled within the rolling hills and farmland of Columbia County. While you’re at the farm, you can walk down to the Josiah Hess covered bridge, built by the Hess family in 1876, the original homesteaders of our farm.

Our Philosophy

Local, fresh, healthy, and sustainable. Our goal is to be your local source for fresh, clean, pastured poultry, eggs, beef, lamb, and pork of the highest quality using sustainable farming methods that contribute to the health of our customers, community and environment.

Pasture-raised with no drugs. Our animals grow to maturity on pasture without the heavy grain feeding found in feedlots and confinement facilities today. Pasture raising provides our animals a low-stress, high-quality life, improves the soil, and helps maintain the landscape. We don’t believe artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, growth promotants, hormones and antibiotics belong in our food chain, so we don’t use them.

Best nutrition for us. Foods raised from naturally-enriched soils and forages without chemical inputs taste better, keep longer, and are more nutritious than the food products you can buy at the grocery store. Our pasture foods are lower in saturated fats, calories, and cholesterol, and are higher in essential fatty acids and vitamins.