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!
It is that time of year when ranchers are gathering up their odds and ends cows that lost calves or just aren’t going to make the trip to summer grass and instead give them their last trip to town.
But for people like us who live this way a life, a trip to the sale barn becomes a really big “town day”! As we pulled on to Highway 20 we were following another pick up and trailer all the way to the sale barn. We unloaded our cows then we went about town doing our errands where we ran into that same pick up and trailer at many of our stops. A stop at the farm supply store to grab supplies to get tanks and windmills going and of course I grabbed a few more strawberry plants. A stop at the feed store for some supplements the girls ordered for their show heifers. A big check dropped at the vet clinic for branding shots, tick meds and wormer for the dogs. Where I also picked up a couple pounds of freshly roasted coffee from the local coffee conesiuer who’s roastery sits right behind the vet clinic! We refilled propane bottles and picked up some lunch. No trip to town is complete without a trip to the grocery store to stock up.
After a few hours in town stimulating the local economy, we hit the road back to home. As we turned off the highway, it was interesting to see the same pick up and trailer we followed to town, following us down the highway headed back to their ranch. And all of this because we had a few cows that needed to go to town. If you are still lucky enough to have a local sale barn in your community, support it because I don’t think it can be understated the amount of business that they bring to your community on sale day!
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.
[email protected] or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
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