Tilth Conference

Conference Schedule

Conference Schedule

Farm Transition Beyond Family: Practical Lessons from the Field

  • Date: Tuesday, November 17
  • Time: 4:00-5:15 p.m.
  • Speakers: Amy Frye, Boldly Grown Farm; Anne Schwartz, Blue Heron Farm; Elizabeth Bragg, Long Hearing Farm
  • Track: Track 1

Many farmers and producers do not have a succession plan or next generation successor, yet the future of their land, business, and knowledge depends on thoughtful transition planning. This session will explore non-familial land transfer and succession through a moderated conversation featuring multiple perspectives and scenarios, including exiting farmers or landowners and entering farmers. Panelists will share practical lessons from real-world experiences, including how connections were made, what barriers emerged, and which strategies helped move the process forward. Topics will include affordability, financing, and communication.

About the Speakers

  • Amy Frye

    Boldly Grown Farm

    Amy Frye and Jacob Slosberg are the co-owners of Boldly Grown Farm, a certified organic vegetable farm in Washington’s Skagit Valley, which they’ve grown over the past decade into a thriving wholesale, CSA, and farm-stand business. The two met at the University of British Columbia, where Amy earned a Master’s in Resource Management and Environmental Studies and Jacob studied agroecology, and where they both worked at the campus farm before starting their own. They came to farming through their environmental values and are passionate about feeding their community with healthy, locally grown food while stewarding their land and water resources and creating living-wage agricultural jobs. Beyond the food they grow, both are active in the broader agricultural community through mentorship and advocacy—Amy on the Local Advisory Committee for AgWest Farm Credit, Jacob as President of the Puget Sound Food Hub Co-op—working to strengthen the resilience of the regional food system. Amy and Jacob have two kids, Leo (9) and Ayla (5), who love living on the farm.

  • Anne Schwartz

    Blue Heron Farm

    Anne Schwartz has been an organic farmer for 44 years. Anne has also been an activist to advocate for better agriculture for nearly 50 years. She has and continues to serve on several boards and advisory committees, and along with her husband, served as volunteer EMT’s and firefighters for the Rockport Fire Department for 40 years. Anne has also experienced stress on many levels both as a business owner and lifetime activist and has worked to address stress in her life. She has joined the WRASAP team to further that work and share experiences.

  • Elizabeth Bragg

    Long Hearing Farm

    Elizabeth Bragg is a Land Transfer Specialist for the Pacific Northwest Region at American Farmland Trust, where she advances equitable land access and stewardship. She is also a worker-owner at Long Hearing Farm, a certified organic, multiracial rural worker’s cooperative rooted in sustainable agriculture and Indigenous foodways. Elizabeth brings over a decade of farming experience and a strong background in community organizing to her work supporting farmers and advocating for food justice.