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!
Thanks for starting the week with me right here on Ranch Raised!
Summer is National Championship Season, at least it is if your kids are involved in the greatest sports on dirt. The last few weeks arenas across the land have been filled with kids parading their finest livestock around in front of judges. Just this week America’s best cowboys and cowgirls are gathered to compete against the best at the National High School Rodeo Finals!
As a parent I got to witness a lot of great things last week at the National Junior Hereford Expo, in Grand Island, NE. I am sure what I observed was duplicated at all national livestock competitions this summer and even in rodeo arenas. I watched kids who worked their tails off taking care of their livestock making sure that their care and comfort was above their own. I loved seeing kids from across the country network with each other and build friendships based on a common love for the livestock industry. I truly hope these kids know that those relationships they build outside of the arena will be worth more than buckles and banners!
It made me so thankful for the countless volunteers who pour their time and energy into these kids so they can do what they love. As one judge reminded these kids in a tearful farewell, kids, if you are allowed the opportunity to compete at this level, please thank those that drove you there, support you day in and day out, wash your laundry, pay the entry fees, and so on. And with that, we walk or run into county fair season!
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.
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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