CARLYLE - Twenty-five kilometers southwest of Carlyle, Kirk and Katelyn Rutten live with their parents Amy and Terry Rutten.
Kirk, age 11, is in Grade 6 and Katelyn, age 13, is a Grade 8. Kirk attends Carlyle Elementary School and Katelyn the Gordon F. Kells High School.
Their grandparents are Bev Rutten of Carlyle and Allan and Suzanne Wushke of Rocanville. Amy is a teacher at Gordon F. Kells and Terry owns and operates Moose Mountain Electric. The family also has a 170 cow-calf operation.
Both Kirk and Katelyn have their regular duties on the farm. Every afternoon after school, Kirk collects and cleans eggs from his flock of chickens, which are sold to various customers in the area. Tuesday is egg delivery day. He and his mom deliver dozens of eggs to over 25 regular clients in the area.
Katelyn and her brother help her parents with the cattle herd, assisting with calving deliveries, feeding, sorting and other chores.
Aside from cattle, Katelyn enjoys horseback riding and barrel racing. She also plays club volleyball for the Oxbow Black Knights. Until recently, she also tended to her own flock of sheep. She is an enthusiastic member of Living Skies Crossfit and also plays catcher for a fastball team in the spring and summer.
Kirk plays hockey for the U13 Carlyle Cougars. He plays defence and wears the number 33, in honor of his favorite player and team, Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets. He also plays baseball and is a third baseman/pitcher. Kirk enjoys fabricating, building things, and being an electrician’s helper for his dad. Despite his young age, he has already constructed his own chicken coops.
Both Kirk and Katelyn are active members of the Alameda 4-H Club. Annually, they both enter steers and heifers into local and regional competitions and in 2022 also participated in two cattle events in Brandon, Man. In 2021, Katelyn’s heifer won the regional reserve champion, and her steer the local club champion awards.
Both Kirk and Katelyn love the farm life and wouldn’t have it any other way. Both want to be farmers when they grow up, with Katelyn perhaps branching off into veterinarian work and Kirk also becoming an electrician like his dad. Amy and Terry are very proud of their children and Amy concluded the interview with these comments. “We are proud to be the parents of Kirk and Katelyn. They are developing into very responsible and reliable young adults.
“We enjoy watching the growing passion they have for farming and are happy that they have such a huge interest.”
