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!
It is national championship season and I’m here to tell you all about it right here on Ranch Raised!
In the livestock show industry, the end June and first half of July is known as Junior National season.
It is a time when individual breeds of cattle gather with their youngest handlers, the youth of the breed, to come together in one location in the country and have a national showdown. Now, this isn’t just all about fluffing some hair and handling a heifer. No way! This is about growing young people. Educating those willing to be students. Challenging their skill sets. And even giving back and volunteering.
I know the Shorthorns, Maines, and Chi’s have wrapped up their Jr Nationals. The Gelbviehs and Angus are in motion right now and next week the biggest of them all, the Herefords will gather.
Right now I have a daughter in Grand Island, NE at the Angus Jr Nationals with over 700 kids and 1700 head of Angus cattle. Yesterday she invested in their education day to learn about nutrition, embryo transfer, hair care, and daily management.
She is making the most of a hard week. We lost our mother in law and her grandma a few days ago. Because of funeral plans, she was unable to take her Angus heifer but is making the most of it by competing in livestock judging, beef skillathon, and quiz bowl. She is also pitching in, literally, by being an arena cleaner. She is learning that even the messiest of jobs have to be handled by someone and it takes a team to pull of this show.
Good luck to all of the kids competing this week around the country!
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.
karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
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