John & Todd Hopkins (on left) with their grown daughters and grandchildren.
decided that since the farm was stable and the market was operating so well, it was time to pass the torch af- ter 36 years. They listed their farm for sale, and began the search for the right steward to take over the property. About the same time the Hopkins’s were thinking of sell- ing their farm, Deb Race and her husband, Jim LaPlant, from Massachusetts, were looking for a life change! Deb and Jim had been in the medical field for 25 years. During the COVID crisis, Deb was a Registered Nurse working long, hard hours helping people whose future was dark due to the pandemic. Jim worked long hours maintain- ing hospital infrastructure (computers, phones, medical equipment). At times, both pulled night shifts, weekends, and 12+ hour days. Like a lot of people in the medical field, these medical heroes got burned out. Who wouldn’t? They wanted a healthier lifestyle. And so, they started looking for an alternative life plan. They realized how hard COVID was on families, not only medically but even just to put quality food on the table. The food industry was broken, and the amount of chemi-
cals and fillers going in food these days was unacceptable. Both Deb and Jim worked on farms in the past. Deb sold vegetables, cleaned chickens, and did other farm chores for her grandfather on his farm. Jim was willing to learn whatever was needed. So, they decided that having a sus- tainable working farm and providing healthy food to the public was what they wanted to do.
Deb Race and her husband Jim LaPlant are Forks Farm’s new owners.
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