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 into Fun, Fact Friday right here on Ranch Raised. This time of year we are all looking for those classic spring flavors and sides. Asparagus has got to be one of those iconic veggies that I think of this time of year. Long stalks of tender greens grilled on the side of a juice steak. Leftovers thrown into pasta dishes or with other roasted veggies. And who doesn’t like pickled asparagus as a change of pace?
If you don’t have a backyard asparagus patch then you are probably grabbing this spring delicacy from the grocery store. Asparagus is a high-value, labor-intensive perennial vegetable. Approximately 19,200 acres of asparagus were harvested in the U.S. in 2020. U.S. acreage is currently only about one-third of what it was 15 years ago due to increased imports from Central and South America. Essentially all of the U.S. commercial asparagus production occurs in Michigan, California, Washington and New Jersey. The national average yield in 2020 was around 3,875 pounds per acre.
Asparagus, native of temperate regions. Asparagus is generally harvested by snapping which typically commands a higher market price than cutting.
Check your country of origin labels at the grocery store, and when you can, choose to support the American asparagus farmer!
HOT BARN REPORT: Shop Small, Shop Local, Support Rural America
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children 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, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and 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 Jones 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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