Davis Family Farms traces its roots back to Christmas Eve of 1776 when Joshua Davis purchased the first tract of land that would become the foundation of our family’s farming legacy. By the time of his passing, Joshua Davis had expanded the farm to over 2,000 contiguous acres in Northern Wayne County, complete with a sawmill, grist mill, and turpentine still. For nearly 250 years, Davis Farms has remained in continuous agricultural production, with ownership passing directly through generations of Joshua Davis’s descendants.
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In recognition of this enduring legacy, Davis Farms was among the first to be honored by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Century Farm program in 1970, which recognizes farms with over 100 years of ownership. Later, in 2016, the farm was also one of the first to receive the Bicentennial Farm recognition, a distinction held by fewer than 20 farms in the state for maintaining at least 200 years of continuous ownership.
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In the summer of 2021, Joshua S. Davis, along with his wife Erin and their two daughters, Delaney and Bayleigh, returned to the farm with a vision to carry the Davis farming legacy into the 21st century. Today, Davis Family Farms is not only producing a wide range of high-quality produce, livestock, and poultry raised on pasture but is also a leader in regenerative farming practices. We proudly host a variety of agritourism events throughout the year, offering visitors a chance to connect with the land and our farming traditions.
The next time you visit, please ask us about our history. We love sharing our story and showing how we are continuing our family’s farming tradition while meeting the evolving needs of our community.
About Davis Family Farms
Our Mission
We are committed to growing and producing quality fruits and vegetables along with pasture-raised meats, poultry, and eggs using regenerative farming methods at Davis Family Farms. Many of our agriculture practices are rooted in old and traditional farming methods. Yet, through the prism of history and modern science, we can recognize and eliminate routines that were not as healthy for our land and ourselves. Along with rotating our crops, we also rotate our livestock and poultry on and off of our fields. This improves the health of our soil and significantly decreases our need for chemical fertilizer. We NEVER use Round-up to prep our fields for planting. The vast majority of our crops are all grown from heirloom seeds. And every decision concerning our produce and livestock is made with the health of our land, our animals, and above all else, our consumers in mind. This allows us to provide the highest quality and healthiest products available.
Along with focusing on growing a wide range of products, we often open our farm to the public. From our Farmhouse stays (available on Airbnb) to our many on-farm events, our goal is to provide unique farm experiences that allow for fun for the whole family yet connects our guest to both the history of our land and where their food comes from.