When Three to Five Years Becomes Forever: A Farm Succession Conversation with Elaine Froese
Release Date: 09/23/2025
What Planting Season Teaches You About Marriage: Alignment, Communication, Support, and Grace
Boldly Grounded
Sign up for Farm Wifes Club here: Kylie Epperson, a fourth-generation Midwestern farm wife and entrepreneur, shares how planting season pressures reveal real marriage dynamics in her 12-year marriage while raising three kids and juggling busy schedules. She explains that couples don’t need equal effort but aligned expectations as seasonal demands shift who carries more at work or at home. She emphasizes that clear, respectful communication matters most when exhausted, helping partners respond rather than react. Kylie notes that support may look practical—handling...
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Shop Talk: Raising Kids, Chasing Turkeys, and Building Something Beautiful
Boldly Grounded
Join us at Farm Wives Club - https://kylieepperson.com/farmwivesclubtheevent/ Kylie Epperson hosts her husband Jordan for a candid catch-up during mid-April planting season, sharing how rain paused fieldwork and how pumping hog manure helps as a cheaper fertilizer option. They talk about their 10-year-old son suddenly becoming passionate about hunting and fishing, including a youth-season turkey success and a supply run to Bass Pro, plus Jordan’s memorable past turkey hunt where he forgot his calls but still tagged a bird. The conversation shifts to gratitude for involved, local...
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Finding Connection: The Power of Adult Friendship as a Rural Woman
Boldly Grounded
Follow Kylie on Instagram @boldlygroundedpodcast or @kylieepperson_ Sign up for Farm Wives Club here: https://kylieepperson.com/farmwivesclubtheevent/ Kylie Epperson talks about adult friendship and how lonely life can feel for women juggling caregiving, motherhood, work, and rural schedules. She shares her experience of friendships changing after high school and college, moving back to a rural area, and how divorce, drifting, and life transitions can disrupt friend groups. She emphasizes that connection is essential, citing studies that strong relationships increase survival rates by...
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When Sunshine Saved My Soul: Growing Dahlias Through Hard Seasons with Kylie Gray Eilers
Boldly Grounded
Follow Kylie on Instagram @boldlygroundedpodcast or @kylieepperson_ Or check out her website You can find Kylie Gray Eilers on Instagram @graygirlfarms or head to her website to see all she has going on Host Kylie Epperson interviews Kylie Gray Eilers, owner of Gray Girl Farms and Nursery in Royal City, Washington, a fifth-generation row crop background turned first-generation dahlia tuber and flower root farmer. Gray Eilers describes farming in the irrigated Columbia Basin, taking major losses as a first-generation renter, and pivoting by applying potato-production methods to dahlia...
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From Teacher to Creator: Kayla Zenner on Motherhood, Flexibility, and Monetizing Social Media
Boldly Grounded
You can find Kylie on Instagram @boldlygroundedpodcast or @kylieepperson_ Go follow Kayla @thefarmstyle Or check out her website for her recipes www.kaylazenner.com Kylie Epperson talks with her friend Kayla Zenner, a former rural math teacher turned farm wife and entrepreneur, about leaving full-time teaching after childcare challenges and an unpaid maternity leave. Kayla shares how postpartum life and the loss of local daycare options pushed her to seek flexibility at home, while also struggling emotionally with not earning her own income for the first time in years. She describes starting...
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When Your Phone Becomes Your Escape Hatch: Breaking the Social Media Habit Loop
Boldly Grounded
Follow Kylie @boldlygrounded or @kylieepperson_ Or check out her website www.kylieepperson.com Kylie Epperson shares how a weekend trip with her kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City prompted her to try “bricking” her phone using the Brick app to block distracting apps like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Amazon, and others while keeping essentials like texts and calendar. She explains how constant scrolling affects her mental health through a dopamine drip, an escape from boredom or overwhelm, and a habit loop that’s hard to break—especially since social media is tied to her business...
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Maybe We’ll Never Fully Heal: Burnout, Motherhood, and Trusting God’s Timing
Boldly Grounded
Folllow Kylie @boldlygroundedpodcast or @kylieepperson_ www.kylieepperson.com Host Kylie Epperson shares her ongoing journey of self-discovery, faith, and recovery from intense mental and physical burnout that deepened after the emergency C-section birth of her third child, in December 2020. She describes severe postpartum struggles, feeling overwhelmed by caretaking and motherhood demands, and reaching a point where she admitted she wasn’t okay, began low-dose anti-anxiety medication, and later pursued therapy (including EMDR) and functional medicine testing. Kylie recounts a major anxiety...
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Small-Town Talk: Staying Grounded even when people talk
Boldly Grounded
Kylie Epperson shares why she took a week off the podcast after a hectic February and uses the episode to process a recurring challenge in rural communities: how to handle rumors and knowing others are talking about you, especially when you or your farm business are doing things outside the norm. She explains how her response has shifted over time from defensiveness and shrinking back to caring less about others’ opinions, particularly when integrity feels questioned. Kylie outlines three reasons people talk negatively—insecurities and comparison, projection of their own “not enough”...
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From Nebraska to Boot Barn HQ: Tara Miller on Design, Business, and Branding
Boldly Grounded
Follow @Bouldygroundedpocast or@kylieepperson Kylie Epperson talks with interior designer Tara Miller, founder of Heartland Interior Design, about building a commercial and residential firm in Nebraska that now has national and international projects. Tara shares her path through UNL’s interior design program, graduating into the 2013 recession, learning sales as an architectural/design rep, and eventually going full-time in her own firm as client work grew. They discuss entrepreneurship realities like backend operations, hiring support (like bookkeeping), sticking with business long-term,...
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Walking with Faith: Embracing Lent’s Transformative Power
Boldly Grounded
Connect with Kylie @boldlygroundedpodcast or @kylieepperson_. Or check out her website at Launching on Fat Tuesday during her birthday month, Kylie Epperson reflects on turning 35, explains what Lent is (a 40-day Christian season of preparation for Easter rooted in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), and shares how her faith has deepened over the past 4–5 years. She talks through practical Lent fasting ideas she’s seen (including social media, negativity, speed/busyness, and comfort fasts) and outlines her personal plans: giving up refined/added sugars and artificial sweeteners,...
info_outlineYou can find and connect with Elaine here: www.elainefroese.com or @farmfamilycoach on Instagram
Mental Health and Support resources mentioned in the episode:
Betterhelp.com; National Farmer Mental Health Alliance; The Do More Agriculture Foundation
Host Kylie Epperson of Boldly Grounded speaks with Elaine Froese, a farm family coach, about the challenges and strategies involved in farm succession planning. They discuss the importance of open communication, clear roles, and the impact of age on transition planning. Elaine shares insights from her experiences, including her own family’s transition and her work with various farm families. They also address the personal needs and mental health of women in agriculture, emphasizing the significance of support systems and professional guidance. Elaine highlights resources available through her coaching firm and offers practical advice for those starting the succession planning process.
00:00 Welcome to Boldly Grounded
00:46 Introducing Special Guest: Elaine Fra
01:21 Farm Succession Planning Insights
02:33 Elaine's Background and Family Life
08:13 The Adult Task Chart Explained
18:55 The Importance of Clear Communication
29:44 Understanding Empathy in Relationships
30:20 Managing Emotions and Anger
30:50 The Importance of Reaching Out
32:04 Conflict Dynamics and Self-Awareness
32:42 Navigating Family Farm Transitions
38:06 The Role of Communication in Family Dynamics
44:36 Exploring Alternative Farming Relationships
47:29 The Value of Skills in Agriculture
48:25 Encouragement and Final Thoughts