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 Ranch Raised! If you missed the last couple of days here on Ranch Raised, I recommend catching up on the Your Ag Network app or website. I am pretty passionate about the experience that I described and the powerful reminder of what we are fighting for in the cattle industry and for all of rural America!
Farmers and ranchers only make up around 5% of America’s population. Unfortunately, that is a population that also keeps shrinking. There is an old saying, “When the cows leave the land, the people leave the land.” I don’t want to lose any more neighbors. I don’t want to erode any more of our most precious resource, our young people who leave rural America and don’t come back.
But at some point, the view just isn’t enough. I understand, some have their back against a wall and there are notes that have to be paid. I have watched an incredible amount of complete herd dispersals in the last few years. Not all of those are due to the drought. No matter what the reason for them, it is a legacy lost. It is families that probably won’t continue to have future generations come back to rural America because there just isn’t enough here for them. At some point, the view just isn’t enough.
As I said yesterday, we need to have courage and fortitude to save our way of life. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it!
Boy, do I have a surprise for you tomorrow! Tune in for Fun, Fact Friday right here on Ranch Raised where I am going to share some fun facts about one of my family’s favorite whole grain snacks!
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
