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!
The fields across the land are a carpet of green so let’s talk about the soybean, today on Fun, Fact Friday!
The origins of the soybean plant are obscure, but many botanists believe it was first domesticated in central China as early as 7000 BCE. An ancient crop, the soybean has been used in China, Japan, and Korea for thousands of years as a food and a component of medicines. Soybeans were introduced into the United States in 1804 and became particularly important in the South and Midwest in the mid-20th century. Brazil and Argentina are also major producers.
The soybean may be cultivated in most types of soil, but it thrives in warm, fertile, well-drained, sandy loam. Like other legumes, the plant adds nitrogen to the soil by means of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and historically has been an important soil-enriching crop.
The soybean is one of the richest and cheapest sources of protein and is a staple in the diets of people and animals in numerous parts of the world. The seed contains 17 percent oil and 63 percent meal, 50 percent of which is protein. Because soybeans contain no starch, they are a good source of protein for diabetics.
In East Asia and elsewhere, the bean is extensively consumed in the forms of soy milk, a whitish liquid suspension, and tofu, a curd somewhat resembling cottage cheese. Soy sauce, a salty brown liquid, is produced from crushed soybeans and wheat that undergo yeastfermentation in salt water for six months to a year or more and then used in Asian cooking. Other fermented soy foods include tempeh, miso, and fermented bean paste.
Wow, the soybean is pretty versatile. We salute the US soybean farmer!
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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