Farm Market News and Auctions | Features about people in ag.

Withers finds success, joy in 4-H swine project

By Justin R. Lessman

Tressa Withers loves competing in 4-H swine shows.

And she’s good at it.

Withers, a junior at Jackson County Central High School and a longtime member of the Petersburg Willing Workers 4-H Club, recently showed her crossbred market barrow to a fourth-place finish at the Minnesota State Fair’s 4-H swine show and showed her own way to a fourth-place finish in the show’s senior market barrow showmanship competition.

Though Withers is involved in many 4-H project areas, the swine project is her favorite.
“I love the swine project and have learned so much throughout the years doing this project,” she said. “I also really enjoy the industrial technology project area and have been fortunate enough to bring multiple of my shop projects to display at the state fair.”

She said she joined 4-H because she saw it as an opportunity to learn and try new things and have personal experiences she might otherwise not have had. She added she’s never regretted the decision.
“I have learned so many things through 4-H,” she said. “I found things I love to do and people I enjoy being with. I have learned through 4-H that everyone is different and good at his or her own things.”

Withers has also taken on leadership roles in 4-H. She has served as 4-H federation treasurer for two years and will serve this coming year as federation reporter. At the club level, she has held the position of treasurer for two years and the position of secretary for three. She is also a 4-H ambassador.
Though she’s unsure of her future plans, she has an idea of the field in which she would like to work. And, given her love of and success in the 4-H swine project, it’s not surprising.

“At this moment, I am unsure of my future plans,” she said, “but I am interested in doing something in the swine industry.”

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.”

Farm safety at the forefront

By Justin R. Lessman

The list of potential farm — and farm-related — dangers is long.

However, Lakefield Ambulance Service Director Elsie Kruger said, a little forethought and common sense can help everyone — farmer and non-farmer alike — make it through the upcoming harvest season safe and sound.

“We’re lucky in Jackson County that we typically don’t see a lot in the way of farm-related injuries,” Kruger said. “But we all want to make sure we keep it that way.”

To that end, Kruger recently compiled a list of common farm and farm-related hazards all should keep in mind during the upcoming harvest season.
The first is falls.

“We tend to see falls as real issues when farmers are working alone — either up on top of buildings or bins or even up on large pieces of equipment,” Kruger said. “They’ve been up there so many times before, they might not even think of the dangers associated with it, or they get a little sloppy and then something happens.”

Kruger advises farmers to always make sure somebody is with them or knows where they are when they are working and, if they are working up high, to make sure they have proper safety equipment in use.

Another common injury sustained by farmers is slices.

“Farmers are working around sharp edges, fences and other things that can cut,” she said. “Even pressure washers can slice skin.”

Kruger advises farmers first to be exceptionally careful around these hazards and, secondly, to know what to do to mitigate an injury until help arrives.

“Farmers know their equipment and should know how to handle an accident until help arrives,” she said. “And it’s so important for farmers who may be injured to seek help. Too often, farmers who are injured maybe don’t call for help or seek medical care even when they really should.”

Other common farm hazards include livestock, augers and power takeoffs, said Kruger, who added farm-related hazards even extend to non-farmers.

“People out traveling local roadways need to be aware of slow-moving vehicles and large equipment turning into and out of traffic, sometimes without a whole lot of warning,” she said. “And drivers also should be aware of the increased threat posed by deer this time of year. As farmers harvest fields, it stirs up the deer and makes them more active and more of a threat on the roadways.”

Roping in the years at Doblar Arena

By Jen Burris

For over three decades, John and Dian Doblar have hosted team roping competitions at their home in Lake County, South Dakota.

“We’ve been putting on team ropings at our house for probably 37 or 38 years,” Dian Doblar said.
Team ropers work together to catch a horse, with one roping the head of the horse, and one roping the heels.

The arena they built for it was first made of railroad ties and golden wire, but it now has sucker rod around the whole thing. There’s an audience section to watch and a sandbox area for kids to play in, and a concession stand for snacks and beverages.

John works to get sponsors for the competition to increase winnings for participants.

When John isn’t hosting and roping at home, he travels around to compete in other roping competitions, in towns such as New Underwood, Aberdeen, Sisseton, Flandreau, and Sioux Falls.
But it’s not just the couple running the show, it’s a family affair, their four adult children, 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild help too.

Dian and her son, Alan often push the cattle, while her grandson, Tristan, usually takes the ropes off at the other end. Two of her three daughters, Jill and Nikki, run the office, and Jill’s youngest boy runs the concession stand.

“It’s pretty fun,” Dian said. “They’re all working and we usually either go out for supper afterwards or bring stuff in to feed them all.”

Each summer they host seven team roping competitions. Participation has grown over the years through word of mouth, flyers, and social media. Doblar’s Arena often promotes their competitions on the Sioux Empire Team Roping Facebook group. Now the competitions frequently bring about 100 teams.

The competitions are usually held on Sundays. “There are other people who host on Saturdays, so we try to hit the days they’re not going elsewhere,” she said.

It can be quite the endeavor to organize these events, but Dian finds that after the first one of the season the family has everything situated and they settle into a routine.

The family time is Dian’s favorite part of hosting the competitions. “I get to see them all, and they all get into it.”

Alan enjoys roping too, and a couple of the grandchildren are interested in learning how to rope as well.

While Dian acknowledges that her children and grandchildren were forced into the hosting and roping life, they grew to like it.

Alan will likely take over the operation sometime in the future, but in the meantime, John is ready and willing to talk to people interested in learning more about roping.

For more information visit Doblar’s Arena Facebook group. Their next competition is the 38th Annual Draw Pot Team Roping and Saddle Roping competition on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 1 p.m. For those who would like to participate, pre-registration is required. For more information or to enter, call John at 605-270-1458.

Former rodeo queen made history, now documenting it

By Justin R. Lessman

It seems fitting the person compiling the definitive history of Jackson County youth involvement in the Minnesota High School Rodeo Association competed in the very first MHSRA State Finals Rodeo in 1956.

That person is Jackson County’s own Gwen Fleace.
Fleace, of rural Round Lake, is in the process of documenting local youth involvement in the MHSRA for the Jackson County Historical Society. It’s a history that began with Fleace nearly 70 years ago and continues to be written today.

The first MHSRA State Finals Rodeo took place at the Plum Creek Ranch near Walnut Grove in 1956. One Jackson County contestant competed there — Gwenlyn Pigman atop her horse, “Sally,” Pigman being just one of seven girls in competition. Pigman won the barrel race and finished third in pole bending, then was crowned rodeo queen.
“This organization has grown so much and made many changes and additions since that time,” Fleace — the former 1956 rodeo queen — said of the MHSRA. “Jackson County has over the years had many young people who have represented Minnesota on the Minnesota state team in national competitions.”

Not surprisingly, Fleace was among the first, competing as a part of the Minnesota team at the National High School Rodeo in Reno, Nev.
“During the early years, there was only the high school state finals, which was the road to national competition,” Fleace said. “Even as other things have changed and improved over 69 years, so has high school rodeo. There are now regional rodeos, which can carry some points into the state finals.”
Other changes include the addition of a junior-high division, with its own national finals. More events have been added to the competition, as well.
“There are more competitors, there are added events and the younger kids come into the high school division with some rodeo experience,” Fleace said.

As part of her work documenting the history of Jackson County youth involvement in the MHSRA, Fleace is compiling a list of names of Jackson County contestants who rode in state finals rodeos from the first in 1956 through the present year of 2025. The names include several national qualifiers, including Arlys Pigman, Marjorie Pigman, Rolland Kutzbach, Dennis Meyerdirk, Cindy Voss, Carolyn Rogers, Pattie Fleace, Sonja Dahlin, Ian Fleace, Tanner Marie Christoffers and Sadie Hotzler. The list also includes three MNHSRA rodeo queens — Fleace herself, Dahlin and Barb Sodemann.
“Jackson County has had many very good rodeo contestants over the past 69 years,” Fleace said. “We have had three MNHSRA rodeo queens. We have had three men who have served on the state board of directors for this organization.”

Though Fleace has done much toward compiling the definitive history of Jackson County youth involvement in the MHSRA, she acknowledges more is yet to be done.

“This is a work in progress at this time,” she said, adding though she has taken great pains to record all of the names of Jackson County competitors, she may be missing some.

She encourages those who may be able to fill in blanks to contact her to help.

“This is a project that is still in process,” she said. “I am planning to do more research and then submit my story to the Jackson County Historical Society.”

MPCA considering updates to feedlot rule

Kyle Kuphal | Staff reporter
kkuphal@pipestonestar.com

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is proposing to amend existing Minnesota Rules Chapter 7020, which governs animal feedlots.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the last major revision of the feedlot rule happened in 2000 and the agency is looking to update the rule because livestock production and agricultural practices have changed since then and it wants to account for those changes. The changes include new information, research and understanding regarding agriculture and the environment; more information about nitrate levels in surface and groundwater; increases in extreme weather events; changes to crop and nutrient management practices; and others. In addition to addressing those changes, the MPCA wants to account for new agency data services, modernize outdated language, improve land application of manure practices to address nitrates, bacteria and fish kills, and establish additional technical standards to protect water quality and avoid fish kills.

Rule making is a multi-year process, according to the MPCA, and that at this early stage of the process there is no draft rule language identifying specific changes to the feedlot rule. Instead, the MPCA is seeking input about issues that are important to consider and will help inform the decision-making process. The MPCA encourages those affected by the proposed rules to participate in the process.

Those who wish to comment can go to www.pca.state.mn.us/get-engaged/animal-feedlots. The comment period will be open until Tuesday, July 22 at 4:30 p.m. Those who comment are asked to identify the specific part or subpart of the rule they are addressing; specify whether they support or oppose the proposed rule language; give reasons for their views; and be specific and offer language changes to solve the problems they identify. The MPCA has provided questions for commenters to consider, including land application, liquid manure storage and permit requirements. Submitted comments are public and can be viewed at the website above.

Any questions about submitting comments online should be directed to William Moore at the Office of Administrative Hearings at 651-361-7893 or william.t.moore@state.mn.us.

This is the first of several opportunities for public comment and input, according to the MPCA. Over the next two or more years, the agency will draft rule language, and seek input from producer groups, environmental groups, Tribal Nations, feedlot owners and others about proposed concepts for potential rule changes.

More information can be found at the feedlot rulemaking webpage referenced above, which also has an option to sign up to receive updates about the rulemaking process.

There is also a recorded version of a virtual public information session about the feedlot rulemaking process at www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuelU0csAn0.