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Rippe Celebrates 10 Years with the Nebraska Beef Council

Madison Doeschot - Nebraska Beef Council | June 4, 2024

Working as the Director of Nutrition and Education for the Nebraska Beef Council has been the culmination of Mitch Rippe’s interest and talents for the last decade. Growing up outside of Johnson, Nebraska, Rippe’s family grew corn, soybeans, and operated a cow-calf operation that he actively worked with. He showed livestock and attended Johnson-Brock High School. 


For college, Rippe attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he enjoyed taking science classes that led him to majoring in nutrition and human sciences. 

“My interest in human health and nutrition came from seeing the interactions throughout the body that I thought were interesting,” said Rippe. “I did an internship in corporate wellness which was a growing field at the time, but I also wanted something that would allow me to get back to the family farm eventually and be able to take part in that as well.” 

When it came to finding a job, Rippe said that he feels his position at the Nebraska Beef Council was meant to be. He was studying for his finals in graduate school and saw an email that advertised for his current position. 

“I thought, this is perfect,” said Rippe. “I’ll get to do beef. I’ll get to do nutrition education. I applied immediately and was hired in June." 

Rippe has now spent 10 years working as the Director of Nutrition and Education, where he fulfills a variety of roles and tasks. Among his duties are health professional outreach to dieticians, nurses, and cardiac rehab facilities. He works heavily on the nutrition education side as a spokesperson for incorporating beef in a healthy dietary pattern. 

“I get to work in ways that constantly engage different groups of people,” said Rippe. “From health professionals to the public to young students. When it comes to nutrition objectives and production characteristics, I get to be a jack of all trades and do a lot of unique programming.”

Specifically, Rippe travels the state of Nebraska to educate these diverse audiences about beef. He does this through programs like heart health classes at local clinics, and coordinating the Nutrition Adventure Program, where registered dieticians have an immersive farm experience. Rippe also organizes Beef in the Classroom, where he helps train family consumer science classes to engage with beef products in their curriculum. 

 When he is not working or travelling, Rippe enjoys getting back to his family’s farm and being involved there. 



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The Nebraska Beef Council is a non-profit organization served by a nine-member board of directors. The volunteers oversee the beef checkoff in Nebraska and checkoff-funded programs. Programs for marketing and promotion are funded by the $1/head beef checkoff.