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!
Proper introductions are needed so thanks for stopping in today, to Ranch Raised.
Now that the adjustment period is complete and it looks like we are willing to be one family, albeit some of them not happy, it is time to introduce over the airwaves that we have added some new hens to our Motley Crew of Cluckers.
The stats on older hens were growing dim. They are in the area of 5 years old and only 2 of the 4 remaining girls were still laying. A neighboring young man, in our 4-H club, had a beautiful assortment of chickens he had raised to choose his 4-H show chickens from. They were close to home, and I am a sucker for supporting a 4-H kid with a project they are passionate about. We went with a game plan, let’s go home with 5-10 hens. My first mistake though was I let them take 2 dog kennels. They had way too much packing capacity to stay within those goal posts.
My girls got into that coop and just started going crazy picking out hens, catching them, and putting them in our cages. Oh geez, we are over our intended bag limit, but there was absolutely none that could be put back. The Black Banty snuggled right into their arms. The Black Copper Maran had been named. The Neiderheiners practically begged to go home with us. We’ve never had a Silver Dorking or a White Orpington, so they had come with us. And if you have one banty well then, we needed 2, how about a red. And instead of a partridge in a pear tree, this song ended with a Golden Laced Wyandotte Rooster, the young man’s county fair rooster, also coming home with us.
The young crew have settled in. The older ladies are a little miffed and have now stopped laying all together. Maybe they just knew their relief pitchers are in the game or maybe they have a little bit of an attitude?
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.
[email protected] or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
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