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!
What in the heat dome is this weather? Thanks for sweating it out with me today on Ranch Raised.
Summertime means hot weather — sometimes dangerously hot. Right now, the scorching heat is trapped in what is called a heat dome. This happens when strong, high-pressure atmospheric conditions combine with influences from La Niña, creating vast areas of sweltering heat that gets trapped under the high-pressure “dome.”
What does this mean? According to Karina’s Rules of Ranching #58, “Haying equipment, irrigation systems, and windmills are at an increasingly higher chance of meltdown or breakdown during times of a heat dome. The probability that cattle will get out or floats will break causing flooding in areas will also be higher during times of a heat dome.”
So, there you have it. If people must work outside like farmers, ranchers, linemen, truckers, etc. These high temperatures are no doubt causing challenges. Everyone please takes caution and pack a long extra water and try to occasionally take breaks to cool down and rehydrate. It is one thing to work hard during the summer, but this intense 100 degree plus heat is nothing to take lightly so plan. Our days are starting earlier around here to try and beat the heat. Our livestock is our #1 priority, so we frequently check them to make sure their needs are met. A break in this heat is coming so hopefully we can all weather this challenge together, no pun intended….well, maybe 😉
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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