MIDDLEFIELD, Conn. — Through wars, financial panics and a freeze that destroyed its peach crop a century ago, eight generations of the Lyman family have sustained its farm in the hills of central Connecticut.

The family behind Lyman Orchards is now looking to cultivate the next generation of owner-operators, concerned that not enough younger members will step up to keep the farm run by the family, as it has been since it was established nearly 275 years ago.

“I think it’s a little of ‘to be determined,’” said John Lyman, executive vice president of Lyman Orchards. “Nothing lasts forever.”

Last summer, a two-day family conference drew 16 ninth-generation family members from around the U.S. to expose them to the business and help identify future leaders for the farm.

Two members of that generation are committed to Lyman Orchards, and John Lyman said his son, a University of Connecticut engineering graduate, might also seek employment with the business. Lyman said the hope is the family will find enough members to sustain the business for the next decade and beyond.

Lyman, 58, has been the only family member of his generation to work at the business since a brother became an insurance agent and a sister went to journalism school. Five other family members hold seats on the 10-member board, and the farm’s president and chief executive, Steve Ciskowski, is not a relative.

Ira Bryck, director of the University of Massachusetts Family Business Center, said there are many family businesses that extend through a fourth generation. A business making it to the ninth generation, he said, “is off the charts.”