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!
So back to the business of Border Collies! Whether it is traveling the big loups, covering a lot of acres or working in tight confined corrals, like our alley way and bud box, we have a Border Collie for the job. We are Border Collie crazy and currently have 5. We have raised all but one of them.
Just like children, the each have their own strengths and they each have a job that they excel at. Diego is our old female and everyone will call her “momma’s dog”. If I am outside, she is right next to me. She is my right hand partner and does her best to ignore everyone else.
We have Diego’s daughter Dixie, who has sort of become a show princess, excelling in the 4-H show arena for my daughter. In the last year we have kept 2 of Dixie’s offspring, Bella and Rosie. Bella is also beginning her 4-H show career and is showing a strong interest in herding.
Then there is Ace, the only male in the bunch, fixed male that is. We acquired him last year to be my middle daughter’s show dog. However, he has become my husband’s partner. If Ace isn’t sleeping, he is herding something, somewhere. His brain never shuts off and he is a working man’s dog.
Watching a good Border Collie work, is like watching an artist with a paint brush, it is truly poetry in motion. But, don’t be fooled, we don’t just turn dogs on cattle and snap our fingers. It is sort of like training a good horse, it takes years to train a great cattle dog! So be patient with your pooch and don’t be afraid to ask great handlers for help.
I want to hear about your best canine partner! So tell me all about your 4-legged partner on the Ranch Raised FB page!
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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
