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!
Thanks for tuning in to Fun, Fact Friday right here on Ranch Raised.
If there is a reward for surviving the long days of summer heat, we have arrived, it is watermelon season!
Watermelons obviously got its name because of its extremely high-water content, approximately 92 percent. Watermelons are a great souce of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, lycopene, antioxidants, and amino acids. Watermelon consumption and production in the United States has been on the rise in the last few decades. U.S. annual per capita consumption of watermelon is now at approximately 15.5 pounds per person. I will take that as a personal challenge to help swell that number.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, over 100,000 acres of watermelons were grown in the US in 2020, producing 38 million pounds. While watermelons are grown across the U.S., most production occurs in the top five states (Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, and Texas). The average watermelon yield per acre in the U.S in 2020 was 39,704 pounds. In terms of production, watermelon is one of the three top crops produced in the US, along with onions and head lettuce.
Let’s support out American watermelon growers. Check your labels at the grocery store or buy locally. Celebrate the weekend in style with some cold, juicy USA grown watermelon!
Follow Karina Jones on Facebook!
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
