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John and Alison checking the Hives

Although we go by the name Cromwell Farms there are plenty of other names that are part of our family farming history. I am sitting here at our kitchen table with one of those names.

Alison’s father John Davis is a farmer. Born in 1934 in Burwood, NSW, John’s father Fred decided to have a go at farming when John was 15 on a 40 acres Citrus Farm near Gosford: over 2000 trees and 3000 laying hens (white leghorns). Dad worked that farm until he was 22, when he married Alison’s Mum Margaret. They headed to Beneree and worked on a 1000 acre property raising Fat Lambs.

Reluctantly, John hung up his full time farming hat for a more lucrative and secure income for the family and worked 21 years in the softdrink industry. John’s love of the land never wore out and in the early 70′s John went back to school and got a certificate in Horticulture from New South Wales Ryde School of Horticulture. This tied in with his work in Newcastle with the City Council Parks and Gardens.

During his tenure with Council Dad got into bees with one of his mates. At one point they had over 30 hives going all over the place. John has recently got back into the bee business on a smaller scale (for now). We are proud to have a couple of hives on our farm now and we are all buzzing with excitement to get our first batch of home grown honey.

If you are interested in knowing more about bees give John a buzz–megjohndavis@gmail.com

Checking the Hive