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!
Tick, tick, boom! We have just closed the books on February!
Good thing February is a few days short of a full month. I think most of us are just fine saying buh-bye to what has been a brutal month for many. If you work out in the elements, February brought you its fair share of misery with artic temps, snowstorms, and winter weather. Even if you don’t bundle up to work outside, February dealt us all challenges with wintery road conditions and just general headache trying to do anything. Even going to the grocery store was a pain.
The winter blues and seasonal depression are a real thing. Make sure that you are staying in tune to your mental health and addressing it. Talk to someone! Even in farming and ranching, this winter has been harder than most. Seeing the dwindling hay pile and the diesel pump numbers spinning like they are a PTO is enough to make anyone overthink to the point of mental fatigue. Please, don’t take on those burdens alone.
Let’s all lean on each other as a community, both in and outside of agriculture, to make sure that we are all supported. Every single person listening matters. You matter to your friends, your family, and Lord knows your co-workers or your cows need you.
Tomorrow is a new day and spring is on its way. So let’s “march” (see what I did there) to sunnier days ahead.
The Farmer’s Almanac Folklore says, “If February gives you much snow, a fine summer it doth foreshow.”
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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