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!
When corporate America turns it’s back on small town America. Thanks for starting your week with me right here on Ranch Raised.
One of my most popular Ranch Raised story series was when I talked about Redman’s Shoe Store in Alliance, NE shutting down and how the owner was painfully honest on social media how he had arrived at that devasting decision after decades of serving his community.
I have had to relive that painful realization again, this time in my current hometown, of Broken Bow, NE where my locally owned shoe store, probably for some of the same reason as the shoe store in Alliance had to close. Big wholesalers don’t want to bother with little privately owned retailers. That is beneath them.
Corporate American struck my small town again recently when the “golden arches” made a salty deal and offered the employees of our small-town fast-food store less than one week to find different employment because just ahead of the holiday season the corporate powers that have decides to lock the doors because this rural town is just small fries and doesn’t fit their model anymore.
99 cent and a penny more stores have painted small town America with those easily recognizable yellow plastic bags. But what I see is how much green they have taken from the local grocery stores and others who wish to remain and be viable as they fight the giants.
This will be a principle I will talk about a lot during the holiday season. Support those who sponsor the trophies at the county fair, who’s name is on the back of the little basketball jerseys in your town or give to make sure the kids have a post prom party. Those are the real heroes in small town America!
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 former 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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