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!
If we make through…errrr….this week?!? Welcome back to Ranch Raised!
If I’m being honest, I think that most of us involved in raising livestock really do not have our eye on any big holiday event coming up. We are literally in a fight mode expending every ounce of energy and every minute of daylight to take care of livestock right now.
On the heels of a historical blizzard that hit the upper midwest we are now facing a life-threatening artic blast. The temperatures that many of us are about to face are indescribable other than to say absolutely dangerous. We are all taking a look at our operations and running game plans through our head of where the best places for our herds are to try and get them out of the wind.
We are anticipating frozen water situations and trying to get a Plan B, C, and X together. Undoubtably we are feeding extra hay to get bellies full so they act as a furnace to those 4-legged bodies. For so many of us, we were headed into this winter short on hay. This weather will expediate the depletion of hay reserves and I can tell you that will weigh heavy on the minds of cattlemen and women.
So when you farmers and ranchers this week scrambling to get to the next set of cows, their faces heavy with the stress load of the situation, heavier than the Carhartt’s they carry on their frame, please say a prayer for them. They would love nothing more than to be at their kid’s Christmas activities or sitting in the warm house playing a round cards with their family. Unfortunately, mother nature has dealt us a hand that we have to play.
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
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