Katelyn Kemmetmueller’s ability to manage her life in college and softball came from a routine.

The routine on the Kemmetmueller Dairy Farm to be exact, owned by the family of the Minnesota shortstop. The sophomore likes to go back to her home when she’s away from her Division I sport.

While there haven’t been any trips this year because of the weather so far, the farm is a special place for Kemmetmueller. The Gophers and she visited the farm in Rogers, Minnesota last season.

“I got to show them all that stuff,” Kemmetmueller said. “It was kind of funny to watch them. Some of them didn’t like the smell, one of the pigs actually pooped on one of my teammates.”

She said she took the team on a trip right away in the fall last year, when she was a freshman. Some of Kemmetmueller’s teammates were more apt to the sights and smells of the farm, while some might have been less impressed with the experience.

The Gophers got to experience the farm, but also experience a dinner prepared by Kemmetmueller’s mother, Karen. 

Katelyn traces her roots back to the dairy farm, where she still takes care of the animals with her family. Kemmetmueller said when she was in high school, she sometimes dreaded having to get up before classes to help her dad on the farm, but now she realizes the importance of it and enjoys going back.

“As soon as I came to college, [I] miss[ed] that,” Kemmetmueller said. “I think it helped me a lot because it was very structured. The work had to get done, so it’s helped me in college.”

The farm lifestyle is not a new one for the Kemmetmuellers. The Kemmetmueller Dairy Farm has been passed down for three generations, with Katelyn’s great grandfather originally owning the property. 

Over the years, the farm has accumulated animals of all kinds. There are dairy cows, pigs and goats, and teammate Amber Fiser looks forward to meeting Katelyn’s new puppy.

“I’m absolutely so pumped,” Fiser said. “It’s a great experience to see people go to [their] places and see how they are at home and what their lifestyle is like.”

Kemmetmueller’s work on the farm is certainly a difficult task and the work ethic she gained in her time at home has helped her as a softball player. Head coach Jamie Trachsel said that, around the softball field, she works very hard, is quick to ask for help and will go out of her way to help people.

The Gophers haven’t made the trip yet this season, but the team has plans in place to go to the farm sometime in the future. Fiser is looking forward to the trip, since she missed the first couple visits.

To Kemmetmueller, a typical summer work day on the farm may look a lot different from inside a Minneapolis office. Her office is her backyard and the job starts very early in the morning.

“A typical day in the summer would be getting up at 5:00 [a.m.],” Kemmetmueller said. “We’re usually done about 7:00, 7:30 [p.m.]. If we’re baling hay, we’ll probably go until the sun sets. “