Ranch Raised with Karina Jones – Putting the Prairie to Bed!

November 2, 2026 Karina Jones Featured, Ranch Raised 0

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Ranch Raised with Karina Jones - Putting the Prairie to Bed!
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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.

Putting the prairie to bed. Thanks for starting your week with me right here on Ranch Raised.

Yesterday, we set out to round up some cattle and bring them closer to home. The terrain is everything you could imagine in our Nebraska Sandhills, rolling grass covered hills as far as the eye can see. I topped out on one of the highest points in the area to get a visual of a vast area even further south of where I was just to make sure we didn’t have cattle go back to down to summer range in the last few weeks. I topped out at that high point and literally lost my breathe. I admit I was overcome to emotion that I don’t typically have. It was just so vast and so motionless. I could see 15 miles or better in every direction and yet, could not spot a single living creature.

I was overlooking what mostly consisted of ours and our neighbors summer ranges, where cattle graze deep in the Sandhills, miles from any ranches or civilization, during the warm summer months. And without seeing any cattle or life forms the prairie was so still, so lifeless, and yet it felt so right. It was like the prairie was telling me that it was ready to go to sleep for this season. And so in some ways, I wish for a soft blanket of pure white snow to fall across this land. Because our blessed Sandhills have battled through a season of drought and remained faithful and resilient soaking up some recent moisture. These Sandhills are ready to rest, hopefully with some snow putting them to bed, in the coming months. I have faith they will be ready to welcome cattle back next summer after their long winter’s slumber. 

karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones


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About Karina Jones 540 Articles
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.