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!
Fresh, sliced, pickled, spears, let’s take a look at cucumbers today on Fun, Fact Friday, right here on Ranch Raised.
Yesterday I picked an armload of cucumbers from my garden, so naturally, it prompted me to want to take a closer look at this fruit, yes cucumbers are a fruit not a vegetable. They contain seeds and grow from the ovaries of flowering plants.
A cucumber’s nutritional benefits are ideal for healthy eating, because these low-calorie wonders contain many hydrating properties and valuable nutrients. In 2019, the cucumber was even elevated to the status of superfood, according to Men’s Health.
Cucumbers are good sources of phytonutrients which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits.
Most US cucumbers are produced in open fields. Michigan growers specialize in pickling cucumbers that are harvested by machine, while growers in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina specialize in fresh or slicing cucumbers that are picked by hand.
About 60 percent of fresh cucumbers that are consumed in this country are imported.
I’m going to whip a big bowl of refrigerator pickles, basically vinegar, sugar and cucumber to have on hand for weekend eating. Check your country-of-origin labels and support the American cucumber farmers or just go to your local farmers market!
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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
