One Family's Tragedy Sparks Nationwide Farm Safety Project

The Kaden Kares Foundation was formed in an attempt to capture the redeeming qualities of the farm boy whose life was tragically cut short.
The Kaden Kares Foundation was formed in an attempt to capture the redeeming qualities of the farm boy whose life was tragically cut short.
(Provided by Kaden Kares Foundation)

What started off as a normal day on the farm for 13-year-old Kaden Wall on Nov. 3, 2020, ended in tragedy when Kaden’s life was taken too soon as a result of a freak farm accident. 

“He was simply helping on the farm – doing a task that thousands of other kids just like him do virtually every day – helping his grandfather on the farm. With multiple generations helping at the farm at the same time, what should have been a moment of pure joy turned into complete devastation in a matter of seconds,” shares Kaden’s uncle, Patrick.

In the days following Kaden’s passing, Patrick, an area beef field specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, was doing some online research and discovered the startling statistic that a child dies in an agriculture-related incident about every three days.

“I found a lot of written resources regarding farm safety, but really very little that actively engaged youth to participate or even practice farm safety,” Patrick says. That’s how the Kaden Kares Foundation was formed in an attempt to capture the redeeming qualities of the farm boy whose life was tragically cut short.

Kaden showing a pig
Kaden loved showing pigs and farming with his family. Photo provided by Kaden Kares Foundation.

Help Save Lives

The long-term goal of the foundation is to save lives of farm kids, but the mission is to get there by creating active participation from kids. The project focuses on kid-created videos all about on-farm safety. Not only do the kids creating the videos learn, but also every kid that watches the videos online learns, too, Patrick adds.

“Many young people who are old enough to operate farm equipment also have a smart phone and access to social media in some fashion, so why not marry the two together to increase good farm safety practices?” Patrick asks. 

To get involved in the Kaden Kares Farm Safety Initiative, start by engaging a team through your local 4-H Club, FFA Chapter or youth group, he says. Then, come up with a farm safety topic and generate a video that demonstrates good farm safety. Post the video on YouTube and enter the contest via the kadenkares.com website

“The team competition part is basically the embodiment of my nephew,” Patrick says. “Kaden was always asking for pick-up basketball in the driveway with his uncles, family kickball in the front yard, board games, etc. No matter what, he always kept score and was determined to win. Of course, I also loved seeing that competitive spirit translate into the ‘eye of the tiger’ look during swine showmanship.” 

The online video challenge will occur in the fall, though videos may be submitted all year long. Entries for each year’s competition will be cut off on November 30. Winners will be announced in January. Groups may enter more than once. Topics can range from livestock safety to ATV/UTV safety and anything in between. 

“Take it seriously but have fun with it!” Patrick says. “Farm safety should be so much more than yelling at your kids to get away from the PTO shaft. We all know that agriculture is a dangerous profession, but most of us wouldn’t change the career path we chose. In the end, I want farmers to brag about their safety videos they did with their grandkids as much as they brag about their corn yields or weaning weights.”

Kaden Kares
Photo provided by the Kaden Kares Foundation.

The Farming “Bug”

Kaden was the oldest boy in his family and grew up watching his dad, granddad, cousins and great uncle farm. 

“He was so eager to join them,” Patrick says. “Some of us get ‘the bug’ to farm; it’s hard to explain to those outside agriculture…but Kaden certainly had it.”

The more dollars that can be gathered through the Kaden Kares Foundation, the more dollars they will give away through the Kaden Kares Farm Safety Initiative, Patrick says. And ultimately, he hopes it results in more lives being saved. 

“We hope people can learn from Kaden’s passing how quickly things can go wrong,” Patrick says, “and in turn, how important it is to actively practice farm safety with those involved in your operation.” 

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