Keeping a smile alive through farm safety for kids
By Jen Burris
The Boomsma family of Yankton, S.D. has turned a family tragedy into an outreach initiative about farm safety for kids.
In April 2017, seven-year-old Jaxon Boomsma lost his life in a farming accident on his grandparents’ farm when he fell from a cab-less tractor.
Jaxon was the youngest of Troy and Sarah Boomsma’s four kids; his older siblings were Carter, Callie, and Jaiden. While all the siblings enjoyed spending time together on the family farm with their grandparents, it was Jaxon’s favorite place to be.
After his passing, the family wanted to make sure his smile stayed alive, Jaiden shared.
“He had a crossbite smile and a bubbly personality,” she said. “He could make friends with a rock.”
To ensure that his smile lives on, the Boomsma family has dedicated itself to promoting farm safety, particularly for children. They give presentations, host booths at farm safety events, and produce stickers and coloring pages. After Troy found little farm safety materials targeted at children, the family wrote a children’s book, “Staying Safe on the Farm with Jaxon.”
Troy and his sister Mary Boomsma wrote a lot of the book, with Jaiden, Callie, and Carter helping.
“While you can tell adults all the farm safety you want, if you can teach it to kids from day one, they’ll grow up knowing it,” Jaiden explained.
And if parents or other family members are reading the book to children, it can be a great reminder for adults as well.
“So the book has Jaxon and my grandpa giving a tour of the farm,” Jaiden said. “He’s holding grandpa’s hand, and they’re walking through, and he’s giving safety advice about different areas of the farm. Jaxon loved the cows and horses, so there’s a part where it gives you advice on where to stand around a horse or a cow, which you might not typically think about.”
The family had illustrations made based on photos of the family farm. The book was first published in 2021 and has been well-received in the agriculture community.
“We’ve gotten so much support throughout the United States,” she said.
Many have reached out to the family to thank them for their work or share their own stories of loss due to accidents on the farm. Jaiden is proud to help other families keep their loved one’s smiles alive as well.
Jaiden helps run the social media accounts for the Jaxon L. Boomsma Keep His Smile Alive Memorial, promoting their farm safety events, the book, and sharing Jaxon’s story with the public.
A recent SDSU graduate, Jaiden has applied some of the marketing lessons she learned to promote Jaxon and farm safety, highlighting the positive impact social media can have.
One of the main messages they focus on sharing is that if someone is going to allow a child on a tractor, it always needs to have a cab and a child seat. They recommend kids are never without an adult on the farm. Additionally, kids should be dressed appropriately with clothes that cover them, closed shoes, and bright colors that can be easily seen.
The stickers the family make say “farm safety” and are meant to be placed on large machinery to remind people as they get in the equipment. In today’s busy world, the most important thing to remember is to take a deep breath and slow down when working on the farm, Jaiden said.
When asked what Jaxon would think of the family’s efforts to promote farm safety and that he has his own book leading people around his favorite place, Jaiden felt he’s likely excited.
“I think he would love it,” she laughed. “He was very keen on having his picture taken, and knowing that he’s talking about farming, he’s probably very excited to be able to teach other people about it.”
The Boomsma family of Yankton, S.D. has turned a family tragedy into an outreach initiative about farm safety for kids.
In April 2017, seven-year-old Jaxon Boomsma lost his life in a farming accident on his grandparents’ farm when he fell from a cab-less tractor.
Jaxon was the youngest of Troy and Sarah Boomsma’s four kids; his older siblings were Carter, Callie, and Jaiden. While all the siblings enjoyed spending time together on the family farm with their grandparents, it was Jaxon’s favorite place to be.
After his passing, the family wanted to make sure his smile stayed alive, Jaiden shared.
“He had a crossbite smile and a bubbly personality,” she said. “He could make friends with a rock.”
To ensure that his smile lives on, the Boomsma family has dedicated itself to promoting farm safety, particularly for children. They give presentations, host booths at farm safety events, and produce stickers and coloring pages. After Troy found little farm safety materials targeted at children, the family wrote a children’s book, “Staying Safe on the Farm with Jaxon.”
Troy and his sister Mary Boomsma wrote a lot of the book, with Jaiden, Callie, and Carter helping.
“While you can tell adults all the farm safety you want, if you can teach it to kids from day one, they’ll grow up knowing it,” Jaiden explained.
And if parents or other family members are reading the book to children, it can be a great reminder for adults as well.
“So the book has Jaxon and my grandpa giving a tour of the farm,” Jaiden said. “He’s holding grandpa’s hand, and they’re walking through, and he’s giving safety advice about different areas of the farm. Jaxon loved the cows and horses, so there’s a part where it gives you advice on where to stand around a horse or a cow, which you might not typically think about.”
The family had illustrations made based on photos of the family farm. The book was first published in 2021 and has been well-received in the agriculture community.
“We’ve gotten so much support throughout the United States,” she said.
Many have reached out to the family to thank them for their work or share their own stories of loss due to accidents on the farm. Jaiden is proud to help other families keep their loved one’s smiles alive as well.
Jaiden helps run the social media accounts for the Jaxon L. Boomsma Keep His Smile Alive Memorial, promoting their farm safety events, the book, and sharing Jaxon’s story with the public.
A recent SDSU graduate, Jaiden has applied some of the marketing lessons she learned to promote Jaxon and farm safety, highlighting the positive impact social media can have.
One of the main messages they focus on sharing is that if someone is going to allow a child on a tractor, it always needs to have a cab and a child seat. They recommend kids are never without an adult on the farm. Additionally, kids should be dressed appropriately with clothes that cover them, closed shoes, and bright colors that can be easily seen.
The stickers the family make say “farm safety” and are meant to be placed on large machinery to remind people as they get in the equipment. In today’s busy world, the most important thing to remember is to take a deep breath and slow down when working on the farm, Jaiden said.
When asked what Jaxon would think of the family’s efforts to promote farm safety and that he has his own book leading people around his favorite place, Jaiden felt he’s likely excited.
“I think he would love it,” she laughed. “He was very keen on having his picture taken, and knowing that he’s talking about farming, he’s probably very excited to be able to teach other people about it.”
