Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
It’s a week of celebrating cow towns and cows building towns right here on Ranch Raised!
So, cattle towns were midwestern frontier settlements that catered to the cattle industry. The economies of these communities were heavily dependent on the seasonal cattle drives from Texas, which brought the cowboys and the cattle that these towns relied upon. Cattle towns were found at the junctions of railroads and livestock trails. These towns were the destination of the cattle drives, the place where the cattle would be bought and shipped off to urban meatpackers, midwestern cattle feeders, or to ranchers on the central or northern plains.
It was that age old tale of cowboys bringing the herds to town to sell, barter, or exchange. And while they the young bucks spent their money having a wild time. The family men loaded up on supplies to take back to their ranches that would be the provisions to see them through the next weeks to months.
Even as towns and settlements were sprouting up across the new American prairie some may have not been on a rail line, but you can bet that it was cow money that built that town.
As society progressed to the west and bigger commodity centers were being built on rail lines, you can bet that cows built those towns! Abilene, Omaha, Sioux Falls, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Denver….sound familiar? Let’s pick up tomorrow talking about the cow towns on these major rail lines!
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Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 3 daughters near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Watching the cattle industry go the path that it has gone, she could no longer sit quietly at home checking cows, fixing fence, and doing all the everyday tasks wondering when some else was going to make it all better. As she became more active and outspoken on industry issues, she was asked to join the R-CALF USA staff in September 2020 as the Checkoff Petition Campaign manager. That position transcended into her current role as full time Field Director for R-CALF USA.
You can hear her almost every Friday on Your Ag Network’s Hot Barn Report that is broadcast on 60 radio stations with coverage in 9 states, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and highlights R-CALF’s work on industry reforms. Listen to Ranch Raised on a Your Ag Network hometown station or www.youragnetwork.com where she talks about her daily life on the ranch.
Cattle producers are her people. She will meet you at the county fair, at the sale barn, or anywhere the dusty trail leads.
[email protected] or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
