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 tuning in to Fun, Fact Friday, right here on Ranch Raised! Let’s start off the first Friday in August with a product you probably were not expecting!
August is National Goat Cheese Month! Chances are you’ve tried it, whether you realized it or not.
The history of goat cheese goes back to Ancient Greece, circa 5,000 B.C. when the goat was first domesticated. Fresh goat cheese has about half the fat, cholesterol, and calories of commercial cream cheese made from cow’s milk. Goat cheese has always enjoyed a strong popularity and spread from the Mediterranean to Eastern Europe, Africa, South West Asia and India. The first settlers in America included goats in their inventory of dairy animals and the dairy goat has always been a presence on the typical American farm. Today, my favorite breed of dairy goat the Alpine (France) and my middle daughter’s favorite breed, the LaMancha (Spain) are among the top goat breeds for cheese production.
It takes about a hundred pounds of goat’s milk to make around twenty-five pounds of cheese. Goat cheese can come fresh, aged or hard or brined. There are lots of different varieties of goat cheese based on what region of the world they originate from. Caprino goat cheese is Italian in origin and popular in traditional recipes for its tangy flavor, salted and sour. Originating in Holland, Gouda goat cheese is popular on pizza and pasta. This cheese has a tangy, sweet/salty taste.
Go wild this month! Try some goat cheese combinations, such as goat cheese ice cream. Add some goat cheese to your salad. Goat cheese pizza might be fun too!
Let me know on the Ranch Raised FB page how you enjoy goat cheese!
Follow Karina Jones on Facebook!
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.
karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
