Based on an acreage south of Menno, Ryan and Cassie operate Wielenga Trucking, LLC. Ryan, four full-time employees and several part-time employees haul cattle, grain, and wet and dry distiller’s feed. Cassie does all the accounting, taxes and reports. According to Ryan, “We run four trucks.” “Actually, five trucks,” interjected six-year-old son Jensen. Ryan continued the story, “Ok, we’ve got five trucks, but we run four pretty much full-time. And have one more we run in the busy times.” Originally from northwestern Iowa, Ryan moved with his parents, Lyle and Barb Wielenga, to Avon, S.D., when he was eight years old. Valerie made sure to point out that “We just call her grandma” when referring to Ryan’s mom.
After graduating from Avon High School, Ryan attended Mitchell Technical College where he studied construction. “But I never worked a day of construction in my life,” he said. However, his kids set great store by his carpentry skills: “He built a dog house for the dog that’s a mansion; and it has an attic for the cats and a porch for the dog; and the inside is all insulated,” said 10-year-old daughter Savanah. “He’s got all the talent,” Jensen said very confidently about his dad. While in college, Ryan worked as a hired man for Parkston area farmer Gail Radke. He continued to work there full-time until July 2008 when he started driving semi for Randy Tjeerdsma of Yankton. His dad, Lyle, was already driving for Tjeerdsma Trucking. In April 2009, Ryan went to work for Mettler
A N N I V E R S A R Y
GRAIN CONDITIONING
Fertilizer during the company’s busy spring season. In November that year, he took the leap to start his own trucking business. His father joined Wielenga Trucking in March 2012. After graduating from high school in 2005, Cassie attended Augustana University for one year, then transferred to Mitchell Tech to be closer to Ryan. While in college, she began working part-time at MDS Manufacturing until January 2007, when she started a full-time position in the MDS purchasing department. In November 2008, Cassie began splitting her time working for Mettler Implement and Bertsch Law Office PC, both in Menno. After Valerie was born, Cassie left Mettler, but continued two days a week (full-time during tax season) at Bertsch Law. After
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June 2022 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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