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!
Welcome back to Fun, Fact Friday right here on Ranch Raised. If spring was a color it would be green and there is no doubt that right now spring greens are popping up in gardens across America. As the days warm up and we all turn to being more active and outside, it is natural that we all pivot from those fall and winter comfort foods to lighter eating fair.
It is fresh spinach season across America! Spinach is a quick-maturing, cool season leafy green vegetable crop. Spinach ranks as one of the most nutrient-dense of all foods. At just 7 calories per uncooked cup, it is is an excellent source of buffet of vitamins and minerals. Traditionally just the leaves of the spinach are eaten, though the roots are also edible.
Approximately 56,200 acres of spinach were harvested in the U.S. in 2020. California is the largest spinach producing state . California, Arizona, New Jersey and Texas, grow 98 percent of the commercial fresh market spinach in the U.S. The average yield in 2020 was approximately 14,400 pounds per acre for fresh and processed spinach. The value of the 2016 fresh spinach crop was estimated at $281.8 million. Whoa, I had no idea that these leafy greens were worth that much green!
So grab some spinach at your local farmer’s market or grocery store and support your American spinach farmer!
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Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 3 daughters 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 that is broadcast on 60 radio stations with coverage in 9 states, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and highlights R-CALF’s work on 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 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
