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!
A full circle season! Thanks for joining me today on Ranch Raised.
If you live in the world of production agriculture your world is marked by seasons, not so much dates. Today was a full circle season moment. We loaded our big steers on a truck to head to our local sale barn. It was a full circle moment because this was our first calf crop born on this ranch. This calf crop is unique for us because this calf crop has never been on a truck. See for over a decade we have had to ship pairs out in the spring to go to summer grass and move those pairs back to home base in the fall. It has been incredibly labor intensive pairing out young babies in the spring, in lot loads of 40, so that we make sure every baby has their momma on the same truck. When you have a couple hundred pairs to ship out, it becomes a huge undertaking, taking days.
But the 2025 calf crop was born on our new ranch and has never left. They have been able to be moved from pasture to pasture just by opening a gate and moving them through, never having to be loaded on a truck to head off for their summer vacation.
I can’t tell you how satisfying it feels to have a complete calf season under out belt, in one location. While the old adage, “no two years are the same in ranching”, still rings true. There is something about just knowing you got through the year, you sent another calf crop down the road. Today’s load was just the beginning of our calf marketing season. While more trucks will be hauling calves out in another month or so, today we reflect and take in this small win!
Take care my friends and stay safe out there!
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children near Merriman, 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 former role as full time Field Director for R-CALF USA.
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.
karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
Follow Karina Jones on Facebook!
