Weber State, Utah State degrees help sisters run family’s six-generation farm
OGDEN, Utah — When a pair of Utah sisters took the reins of their family farm dating back to the 1850s, they relied on two very different degrees from two long-standing Utah universities to take their business into a new era.
Cold Springs Trout Farm is a 13-acre property nestled in the foothills of North Ogden. Throughout its roughly 170-year history, covering two world wars and two global pandemics, the farm has changed hands from son to son. Last year, sisters Tarah Holt and Tylynn Griffin — two among a set of triplets — became the sixth generation and first women of the family to lead the business.
“We knew pretty early on that we wanted to get degrees that would complement each other, that we could use together to grow the business,” Griffin said.
Griffin completed most of her general education courses at Weber State University before transferring to Utah State University and earning a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and aquatic sciences. Holt graduated from Weber State with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, minoring in leadership.
Combined, the sisters believe their education provides the necessary tools to build on the success of their family business, which unofficially started when their third great-grandfather purchased the land in the mid-19th century and began raising trout.
Today, the Utah business is a top provider of fish and fish eggs to customers nationwide and internationally. Cold Springs has also expanded into agritourism, offering a scenic venue for weddings, hosting fall family activities and operating fishing ponds. Together with their husbands, the sisters have “quite the legacy” to uphold, Griffin said.
The sisters began working at Cold Springs at age 10, doing basic outdoor chores before taking on bigger responsibilities as teenagers. When their father, Neal Barker, retired in 2023, he entrusted the business to his daughters — two of the seven he raised — and served as their mentor during the transition.
“The previous generation never truly steps away, it’s always a part of us,” Griffin said. “My grandpa was here until he was 80, feeding fish every day, and my dad still comes and does construction.”
Growing up on the trout farm, the sisters’ differing but complementary interests became clear, along with their goals for college. Griffin loved the lifecycle of the fish, and delivering them across Utah and the surrounding states. Holt was drawn to the business side, exploring ways to keep their water-reliant business sustainable in such a dry state.
“From a younger age, we had both decided we wanted to do the farm, and so college just seemed like the next step,” Holt said. On her dad’s advice, Holt took a few classes at WSU and soon “fell in love” with the business school. Professors would offer to meet after class to brainstorm ways to improve the farm, where she and her sister continued to work throughout their schooling.
“Business has helped me learn to adapt,” she said. “One thing you can count on a farmer to be is optimistic. Businesses need to innovate to keep growing. If it’s not working the way it used to, try something new. Hopefully, that mindset will take our farm another hundred years into the future.”
Griffin said inheriting Cold Springs was a “crash course in fish farming,” but it had fewer unforeseen challenges thanks to her degree from USU.
“I had always grown up in the aquaculture industry and I truly thought I knew everything about fish,” Griffin said. “College showed me there’s so many ways to look at something.”
Most notably, Griffin said her education was essential in “having a voice” to represent public aquaculture and influence decisions that affect the industry. She’s active in the Utah Farm Bureau and other civic organizations. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that without Utah State,” she said.
Holt said her sister’s degree helps Cold Springs navigate natural resources and the regulations that surround them, while her own degree helps the business respond to economic changes. Both noted how college challenged their assumptions about the industry they grew up in, better equipping them for the future.
Just over a year into their venture, which included bouncing back from the worst drought in the farm’s recorded history, the sisters feel confident.
“There are many paths you could take, but choose to keep learning and choose to keep growing,” Holt said. “Each generation has brought something unique to this farm, and now we’re making our mark.”
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu- Contact:
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu