Cold Springs Trout Farm in North Ogden is a top provider of fish and fish eggs to customers nationwide and internationally.
It is a family-owned business in its 170th year and for five generations it changed hands from son-to-son. But it was last year that sisters Tarah Holt and Tylynn Griffin became the sixth generation to lead Cold Springs, a place where they grew up and, at 10 years of age, started to work. At a young age both sisters knew they wanted to work the farm and both felt college would be the next step.
By the time their father, Neal Baker, retired in 2023 both had completed their degrees. Tylynn took care of her general education courses at Weber State University then transferred to Utah State University to earn a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and aquatic sciences. Tara graduated from Weber State earning a bachelor’s in business administration.
Combined, the sisters, who are two among a set of triplets, feel they can build on the success of their family business, with the benefit of their education. Together with their husbands they say they have “quite a legacy” to uphold.
Griffin said inheriting the fish farm was a “crash course in fish farming,” but there were fewer unforeseen challenges thanks to her USU degree. Holt said her own degree helps the business respond to economic changes.
Since they inherited their family’s multi-generational trout farm in Ogden, UT, sisters Tarah Holt and Tylynn Griffin have pursued degrees to help better the business and have expanded into new ventures.