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 not was is taught, it is what is caught!
Our #2 highlight of 2021 here on Ranch Raised is walking along side our girls and raising them on the ranch. Both my husband and I grew up on farms and ranches. I would not know how to raise our kids any other way.
While our kids may not realize it, it is our greatest joy to watch them become resilient, independent problem solvers, hardworking, respectable young people.
To some it may appear like our girls are always winning in all the arenas they compete in. But, I have come to know that those kids that do a lot of winning, do a lot of losing and you just don’t see it. They are willing to lose time with friends to work hard towards their goals. They are willing to risk losing a “never been beat before” winning streak by competing at higher levels because they are hungry for the challenge and competition. They will have bad days and they will lose. But they will have to decide if they love this lifestyle enough to stand the losing.
Ranching looks so idyllic because of how it has been portrayed on TV shows and movies. But, it is not all winning in ranching, in ranching we lose a lot too. But what we gain is priceless.
So it is absolutely a highlight to watch as our girls pull on their boots with us every day, saddle up and dig in to hold on to this lifestyle. And in these moments, I know that it is not what is taught in books that mold them in to the adults they will become. It is what is caught by living this way.
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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.
karina@youragnetwork.com or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
