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!
Good golly, somebody shut the door! Thanks for tuning in to Ranch Raised.
Last night, after I got home from church with the kids, put the groceries away, and put kids to bed the hubby and I pulled on our layers to make a late night run down to the barn to finish some business.
I actually love evenings like last night. It was completely still, just hovering around 32 degrees, which feels rather balmy after the sun goes down. We checked on a few heifers who are approaching their delivery date.
Once in the barn the first order of business was to check on our first baby calf of the season, born to our daughters past show heifer. Ole Stella isn’t winning any “mother of the year” awards yet. She calved out on winter range but had to be brought to the barn to get some guidance in how to be a mother. We also needed to check on a couple of new baby goats who were born earlier in the evening. We put the dogs away in their kennels, sort of liking tucking in our kids for bed and headed back to the house and then we called it a night ourselves.
What a rude way to start the day. The wind is howling. The livestock is hunkered down. And none of us are looking forward to having to be out in this wind today. Truly, a “night and day” difference.
But, it is what it is. We have another doe that may become a momma today. This will be her first-time kidding. She is a character, a completely jet-black doe that we call “Baaa-nanny,” after her mother.
The world keeps spinning here at the Jones Ranch, but I think it spins faster during the spring. I appreciate having you ride alongside on our adventures!
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.
karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
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