This week we are happy to have Kyle Meenen on the blog with us. Kyle has been part of the Pederson Seed Team full time since 2014, and worked here part time throughout high school. Kyle wears many different hats here, and is actively involved in agronomy, seed sales, insurance and day to day operations. Since returning home to Hiawatha, Kyle has gotten married to his wife Shelby, and VERY recently had a son, Cash! Welcome to the blog, Kyle!
Rachel Stevens: What is your favorite time of year here at Pederson Seed?
Kyle Meenen: I really enjoy spring, with all the planting and delivery. Its just constant and always get to go somewhere different. I like how busy it is and getting the seed out the door to customers. It’s really everything we’ve worked for all year. You are never staying in the same spot and get to be outdoors, so I really like it.
RS: Do you have any projects you are looking forward to this year? Any new undertakings with your role here?
KM: I don’t know about any new undertakings, but I always look forward to the summer scouting season. There is always something new happening, like some new insect outbreak or weed problem. I like getting to spend some time with the customers, so I always look forward to that time of year. Anything that gets me out of the office, away from the desk, I really enjoy.
RS: Okay, so what would your dream job be? We know its not something at a desk….
KM: I would probably be a hunting guide in Alaska or Canada. As far from the road as you can get. The kind of job where you would spend a whole week out somewhere with some random guy who paid you to take him hunting and guide him through the mountains and chase critters around. To me, it’s really all about the process of being out there. The adventure.
RS: If you could sit down to dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?
KM: I would want to sit down with the person from my family who first came to America. I don’t even know who that is. I would want to learn from them where they came from, and why they left their homes and what they thought once they got here.
RS: What is your least favorite food?
KM: Coconut. I don’t know why. I like the taste in drinks, but not in food. I think it’s the texture. Every once in a while I try it again just to see if I’ve developed a taste for it….but nope. Hate it. It really isn’t the flavor I guess---its just the texture. No coconut foods.
RS: Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us.
KM: I occasionally read a book! I bet you didn’t know that. I probably don’t strike you as the kind of guy to read books! (Cue laughter….)
RS: What book did you read last?
KM: Well it takes me a long time to read a book. So, for the past year, I’ve been reading this book by Jack O’Connor. He’s was a hunting writer who traveled around a lot. The book is called Game in the Desert. Probably been reading it since 2017. A good read so far.
RS: Okay, so what show are you currently watching?
KM: Shelby and I have been watching SEAL Team on CBS. Its about Navy Seals. We’re getting pretty close with the characters now, you know, pretty nervous when they get in close calls. We’ve also been watching a lot of reruns on TV since we are up late at night and into the wee hours of the morning lately. So, lots of The Office, and That 70s Show, and Friends. That’s what always on in the middle of the night. And I’m not mad about it. Something to do when you are up with the baby.
RS: What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
KM: I really enjoy hunting and trapping. I enjoy deer hunting every year. This year, one of the days I went hunting, it was in the middle of the rut and the bucks were fighting. And you really don’t get to see that very often. I was sitting across this pond in a really thick pasture and could hear all these deer running around and got to see one really big buck with a doe and three or four smaller bucks trying to steal the doe. And this big buck was fighting them all afternoon. I was rattling antlers and doing all I could to call him across the pond but he never came. At one point he ran right towards me and splashed out into the water and threw his head around and grunted but he never came clear across. It was a pretty cool experience. Nobody gets to see that stuff unless you spend a lot of time out there. So that was pretty neat.
RS: What are you trapping this time of year?
KM: Haven’t hardly done any because we’ve been so busy, but normally I’d be after coyotes, bobcats and coons. We’ve been doing a lot of pheasant and quail hunting. Puts food on the table and gets the dogs out working. Really, we do whatever fills the freezer. We try to eat as much as we can from what we hunt ourselves.
I guess another hobby or project is that we’ve been remodeling the house too. I don’t mind doing that. It’s kind of fun sometimes. We just finished the nursery and a guest bedroom, so next on the list is our bedroom and then we are close to done.
RS: Do you have a favorite travel spot?
KM: Probably the mountains. We got to Colorado the most frequently, but we would like to go further sometime. Maybe Yellowstone or Canada. Just the mountains, doesn’t really matter where. Away from civilization.
RS: Cash is almost a month old! How has the first month of his life gone? What things have you learned about parenthood?
KM: It’s been going really good. He’s been doing normally baby things. Eating a lot and growing a lot. He’s starting to fill out a little more.
We have noticed that when people ask how your baby sleeps through the night, it’s a joke, cause you have to get him up to feed him anyway. You know, so far it hasn’t been “challenging” but is just very time consuming. A lot of feeding and rocking and changing diapers. So many diapers! But its been fun so far.
RS: What are you most looking forward to this year?
KM: I’m really looking forward to taking Cash outside when its finally nice enough. I’m excited for when he’s a little older and can see things better so I can take him out of the house and show him things. You know, not even talking yet, but get him outside were he can look at new things. At this point, we are even excited for a walk down the road with him. Go outside and play with the dog. Maybe this Saturday when it’s a little warmer we can get out for a bit.
RS: You’ve read this question on the other interviews….Would you rather be a tiny elephant of a giant hamster?
KM: I would say the tiny elephant. A giant hamster would just be weird. An elephant is actually pretty smart—or would be a lot smarter than a giant hamster anyway.
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