93
Let’s hear the story of Nebraska, its communities, its number one industry Agriculture, and the people who make it happen. Sponsored by Nebraska's Law Firm® - Rembolt Ludtke.
93
Ann Marie Bosshamer--The Voice of Nebraska's Beef Industry
In this episode, we sit down with Ann Marie Bosshamer, Executive Director of the Nebraska Beef Council, who has dedicated nearly three decades to advancing and promoting the beef industry. Growing up on her family’s diversified farm near David City, Ann Marie developed a lifelong passion for agriculture that led her to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and eventually into leadership at the Beef Council. She reflects on her journey from early roles in consumer education to overseeing the Checkoff program, marketing initiatives, and industry partnerships, all while serving as a key spokesperson for Nebraska beef. Ann Marie shares memorable stories—like the rise of the Flat Iron steak from a local research project to an international sensation—and highlights the rewarding connections she’s built with producers, chefs, retailers, influencers and consumers along the way.
Welcome to 93 the podcast. I'm Mark Falston, your host for today's episode brought to you by Nebraska's Law Firm Rebel. Today we're going to talk about Nebraska beef, renowned worldwide for its unmatched quality. It's at the heart of Nebraska's ag economy. And it's what's for dinner. Our guest for today is Anne Marie Boshammer, Executive Director of the Nebraska Beef Council. With nearly three decades at the council and the last 18 years leading in, Anne Marie has been at the heart of promoting, supporting, and telling the story of Nebraska Beef. Anne Marie, thanks for joining us.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, thanks, Mark. I appreciate the opportunity. I've never done one of these before.
SPEAKER_01:So where did you grow up?
SPEAKER_02:I grew up just south of David City, Nebraska, in between Ulysses and Garrison on a small uh uh farm with a feedlot and row crop row crop operation.
SPEAKER_01:What county?
SPEAKER_02:Butler County.
SPEAKER_01:License plate prefix?
SPEAKER_02:25.
SPEAKER_01:So you said between Gerson? What's I don't think that's one town I don't think I'm familiar with.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, Garrison, Nebraska. So uh yeah, we're I grew up 10 miles south, and uh we were basically two miles south of Gerson. So that is just a little south and a little west of David City. You have to go there sometimes. Yeah, my schoolhouse was there that I went to.
SPEAKER_01:What did you say? A one room schoolhouse?
SPEAKER_02:Well, basically one room on the main floor, one room on the top floor. That was it.
SPEAKER_01:Is it still operational?
SPEAKER_02:No, no, a family purchased it and uh have kind of renovated it because it was actually a very nice big school um for for that time, but it's uh it's there and there's a little bar and grill. So it's uh it's a happening place for sure.
SPEAKER_01:So I have a friend who went to one of those one room schoolhouses and he went there recently, and someone had bought it and turned it into hog confinement. So hopefully they didn't do that with your school.
SPEAKER_02:So if there's no pigs running around, no pigs running around. Uh they just have kids. I think they had a lot of kids. I can't remember how many. So perfect place for them for sure.
SPEAKER_01:What high school did you go to?
SPEAKER_02:David City Aquinas, or as they call it now, Aquinas Catholic.
SPEAKER_01:And how many kids approximately in your graduating class?
SPEAKER_02:44.
SPEAKER_01:So after graduating from David City Aquinas, where did you go?
SPEAKER_02:I uh went to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and started out as an Aggie Con major because my brother was an Agi Con major. And um, after changing my major a couple of times, um, I ended up as a diversified ag major emphasizing in communications.
SPEAKER_01:Is that your brother who was a Nebraska football player?
SPEAKER_02:That is correct.
SPEAKER_01:It's Mark, yes. What's your maid name?
SPEAKER_02:Yes. Moravek, Moravek, Moravets, depends on how you want to say it.
SPEAKER_01:Lots of pronunciations.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, correct.
SPEAKER_01:So you're married with kids. Tell us about your family.
SPEAKER_02:So my husband, Brian, and I um are married. It'll be 29 years now in October, and we live um on Brian's uh family's ranch north of Amherst, by uh um, well, north of Amherst, like I said, we have two daughters, uh Brianna, who is a sophomore at UNL, and Brooke, who is a freshman in high school.
SPEAKER_01:So you currently reside in what county?
SPEAKER_02:Buffalo County.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so nine is your current license by prefix.
SPEAKER_02:Nine. Nine, correct.
SPEAKER_01:The girls, did they show livestock?
SPEAKER_02:They do. Um, we have shown cattle in 4-H. My husband, Brian, was an extension educator for 23 years, but uh, we have always dabbled in uh you know breeding and raising some club calves. And so we've been very fortunate over the years that our girls have been able to show the cattle that we raise. And this year, Brianna, with her last year in 4-H, she also wanted to show a pig. So we we did that, and she thought it was great fun, but we but cattle are really our thing for sure.
SPEAKER_01:So even though you're with the Nebraska Beef Council, you let your child show a pig?
SPEAKER_02:This was a deal between her and her dad.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:That was between them, yes.
SPEAKER_01:The girls have had some success showing, correct? I think even this past state fair.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, they have. Um, you know, Brian and I have always been very um we we just think that showmanship is uh a great opportunity for kids to learn poise and confidence, you know, along with some great competitions. We are not a family that shows all over and goes to national shows, but our girls have done very well in this year. Brianna uh had set a goal and she became the outstanding um showman for FFA for beef this year at the state fair. So that was that was a wonderful way to cap off her her state fair for sure.
SPEAKER_01:So tell us about your time and your role at the Nebraska Beef Council. What's uh what's your current title?
SPEAKER_02:Well, currently I'm the executive director. I started um as our director of consumer information. So that is the position that Mitch Rupee on our staff currently has, where uh I was going to work with registered dietitians, um health influencers, that whole area of uh of emphasis. And because I was an RD, I honestly it was kind of hard for me to break into that area. So then our director of marketing was going to be leaving. So I convinced the board to move me over into the marketing area, and that's where I was then for another eight years before I became the executive director um 18, 19 years ago now.
SPEAKER_01:So, what does the Nebraska Beef Council do?
SPEAKER_02:So the Nebraska Beef Council is funded by the beef checkoff. So every time a beef animal is sold, one dollar goes to the beef checkoff for promotion, research, and education. Uh, we can't do any lobbying, we can't do anything political. We are all about strengthening beef demand in the global marketplace. And so uh we have a board of directors, nine board members that uh volunteer their time across the state. They're elected by producer peers in their district, and uh, you know, we're most known for the Beef It's What's For Dinner campaign. Uh, but honestly, the work that we do from research to education, working with those um health influencers, like I mentioned, um it's a it's really a wide gamut and a and a wide wide net that we really cast um across the beef industry.
SPEAKER_01:So some of that promotion involves promote promoting beef internationally. What uh what types of projects have you worked on?
SPEAKER_02:Well, uh most recently we were one of the sponsors with the U.S. Meat Export Federation of the Latin America Product Showcase. Um, obviously, we export a ton of beef from Nebraska. And so our board has been very supportive of foreign marketing over the years. And uh so we were a sponsor of that event. We have been since its inception. Um, and that was just held in July. It's become a huge event in that Latin Central America uh part of the world where they bring buyers and sellers together. And that's something that our board feels very strongly about. You know, you can do promotions if we if you will, but if you can educate and if you can bring those buyers to a location and sellers to the same place, and in a couple of days they can meet and make deals. Uh, that's the way we just continue to sell more beef. So we really like to do those. Right now, we actually have one of our board members with the governor on the trade mission to Japan. And we also have another one of our board members that is with the U.S. Meat Export Federation on their Heartland team where they take producers from the Midwest and they are in Korea right now. So we are always doing something overseas pretty much every month, which is a great opportunity for us and for our producers.
SPEAKER_01:I saw recently you launched a campaign, an advertising campaign in airports, Omaha, Lincoln, et cetera. What's that consist of?
SPEAKER_02:Well, you know, it's amazing the number of people that come through our airports. And we started this several years ago in the Omaha airport, but the Lincoln Airport has had a refresh. And so we like to welcome anyone coming to Nebraska with a great beef message. We want we want to them to see that beautiful steak to make their mouth water and recognize that we are in the beef state, and I better eat a steak while I'm here. So it's been a it's been a fun opportunity. We always like in the Omaha area uh to be in market, uh, usually when the Berkshire Hathaway meetings start, all the way through College World Series. Um, and then we launch this fall now for the Lincoln Airport because we know there's a lot of people that are going to be flying into Lincoln. So we're in both of those, um, both of those airports. And uh that's really the the bulk of the billboard advertising we do, but we do believe that we reach a tremendous number of consumers by doing it that way.
SPEAKER_01:I seem to recall you did a fairly creative calendar, like something about the hunks of uh beef or something like that. Is that is that right?
SPEAKER_02:The hunk of the month. Hunk of the month. Yes, hunk of the month. And we actually just uh finished approving the one for 2026. Um, you know, I've been here for, well, as you said in the email, almost three decades now, and that was something that we did back in the early 2000s. And so we recreated the idea, and it's been a it's been a fun calendar that we have that we use for some different promotions, send out to our collecting points, but the hunk of the month will be coming out here at the beginning of December.
SPEAKER_01:So please tell me the hunk is like a cut of beef as opposed to some beef cakey looking guy.
SPEAKER_02:Well, of course it is. There are so many beautiful pictures of beef. You know, that's that's the great thing about working for this industry is that we have a very beautiful product to have in pictures, calendars, whatever it is. And so, yes, they are beautiful cuts of beef and ways that you can uh share beef with your family because we have a recipe for each one right there with that with that recipe for the month.
SPEAKER_01:So the flat iron steak has a unique connection to Nebraska. Uh, I seem to recall you had a special place at the table when that caught National Spotlight caught attention. What's the history behind the flat iron and uh what did you see?
SPEAKER_02:Well, so the flat iron um it it really is. Uh it's it really did start here in Nebraska. Obviously, the funding for that chuckin' round muscle profiling research was funded by the beef checkoff on a national level. And Dr. Dwayne Johnson from the University of Florida and our own Dr. Chris Copkins were the two meat scientists that were charged with doing this research. So when Dr. Copkins, you know, when all of it was said and done, we were we used to do an event when Exarbon was in Omaha and it was called the Cattle Crawl. And it was a beef and wine pairing evening that we did, and we went from restaurant to restaurant, and we had a special, like a beef appetizer and a wine that was paired with it, and then we went to it for a salad to another restaurant and on and on. So the the year we were gonna do the flat iron for the very first time, it was going to be at Johnny's Steakhouse. And I had invited uh Jane Palmer, she was the food editor for the Omaha World Herald to come to our event, and we were featuring this flat iron. And she said, I can't come to your cattle crawl, but I would really love to learn more about this steak. So Dr. Copkins and I worked with the Kawa family, a wonderful family that owns Johnny's, and we did a special tasting for her. And the very next day she wrote an article that the Omaha World Herald put, you know, they put on the front page of the World Herald, the Associated Press then picked it up, and that is how the flat iron came to be on a national level, because there were there were news um outlets picking this up. I can remember the CNN ticker. Somebody said to me, it was across the CNN ticker though that there's this new flat iron steak. And Dr. Copkins and I had been going to different processors trying to talk them into cutting it. And I can remember a very old meat cutter looking at me and he's like, I have been cutting this, you know, this chuck for a long time. And the last thing we're gonna do is make all these, you know, different cuts because there's this layer of sinew that runs right through there. And uh after that, it it caught on. And I will never forget Dr. Cokins calling me. I was on my way to Lincoln for a meeting, and he called and he said, What are you doing? He said, Peter Jennings from ABC World News Tonight just called and they want to do a segment on the flat iron. And so I canceled my meetings. I remember I went to the university bookstore and bought an N sticker that we then put on a spatula. And you know, this is before any of the technology that we have today. So the folks from Ag Communications came up to the meat lab and we had to tape it, and then they had to go back to the studio and they had to beam it up somehow. I don't know, but that was really the beginning of the flat iron. And so for me, when I go to the US Meat Export Federation meeting and I see that there is a restaurant in Korea and all they sell are flat irons, and it's called the flat iron. That's just it's it's so heartwarming to see how that that idea and that vision back in the late 90s to do this research, how it evolved and and what it's become, and now it's it's a normal steak that you can pretty much buy anywhere. So it's wonderful.
SPEAKER_01:Do you think you'll there'll be a time when you're in the rocking chair as a grandmother telling your grandchildren what role grandma played in the flat iron?
SPEAKER_02:Well, you know, beef is known as a first food, and babies as early as six months of age should be eating beef because of the iron levels. So that very well could happen. Very well could happen, but let's not do that for a while, right? Let's correct.
SPEAKER_01:Let's get the girls married off first.
SPEAKER_02:Right, right.
SPEAKER_01:So you mentioned that that that was a research, at least partially funded through Nebraska checkoff dollars. What other types of research is the beef council doing or participating in?
SPEAKER_02:So, well, there's a wide variety. Obviously, research um is not something that happens overnight. So we usually um have about five or six different research projects that are that are ongoing, uh, whether it is um beef in a meat-centric diet, um, all the way to a new research project that we have over at the New Feedlot Innovation Center, where we're looking at sustainability efforts and and food safety efforts. Um, just just a lot of different research projects that are always focused on improving how we provide this safe, wholesome product to the customer. Food safety, you know, is is key. And so we've got research with salmonella that's been going on. Um, over the years we funded research with distiller's grains and how they affected flavor and tenderness. And that's really what the checkoff has to focus on. We're not allowed to do production research, uh, but when it is something that could affect consumer demand for beef, we we are able to fund that kind of research. So we're really excited, whether it's the U.S. MARC over in Clay Center, we've done research with them or the University of Nebraska. We also help co-fund research projects on a national level. Uh, research is the is the foundation to everything we do. So it's important that we're always trying to be on the cutting edge and and looking for great research projects to fund.
SPEAKER_01:One of the beef council's mini promotional activities is something called the Nebraska Beef Passport. What is that?
SPEAKER_02:So the beef passport uh was an idea on a lawnmower uh that I had after COVID. We had been talking about, you know, people are tired of being at home and they want to go out and they want to, you know, maybe not go out of the state but see Nebraska. And so we we decided let's let's put together a passport. So it started out with just restaurants. Um, this is the fifth year of it, and it's going to be finishing up now at the end of September. So we always roll it out with uh May is Beef Month, and we end it at the uh end of September. We have over 50 restaurants, meat lockers, or butcher shops uh that are on the passport. The great part about it, and the reason we started it was to encourage uh consumers to go out and buy beef at local businesses across the state. And so it's uh it's really been a fun project. We love our partners this year. We also work with KRVN and the Rural Radio Network to highlight all of those local businesses. And so, you know, when we when we get um messages or when we hear from those local businesses that they've had hundreds of people stop by because of the passport, you know, that's a win for everybody. We're helping those local businesses selling beef in the process and just always keeping beef top of mind.
SPEAKER_01:So farmers and ranchers by nature are fiscally conservative, and occasionally one or two or more may complain about having to pay a checkoff dollar. Give us your sales pitch as to why the checkoff dollars are being properly used to promote beef in the industry.
SPEAKER_02:Well, first off, I would say the checkoff touches every facet of our industry. And if if people think that that beef is a small is a small thing, you're you're really you're you're wrong. Uh when when we can touch from the producer to the packer to the retailer. The wholesaler, the chef, the dietitian, the social media influencer, the media, you know, all the way to the consumer. We see and work in that entire spectrum. And again, our role is consumer demand for beef, strengthening beef demand in the global marketplace. I think when when you see things like BSE happen and those things occur, when consumer confidence in our product is wavering and they don't want to buy our product, that's when we have real problems. And uh so our role is to make sure that every day when people are at the grocery store, when they're at the restaurant, whatever it might be, that that they're choosing beef. And they have a lot of choices today. Uh, you know, and COVID showed us that. They've they've experimented with cooking at home and with different types of foods that they normally have. And so they are expecting a high-quality protein, which we obviously are, um, especially at today's price. They're looking for that quality. And so it is our job to make sure whether it is um issues management that we have to do if there's a crisis or a food safety concern, whatever it might be, um, to working with these nutrition influencers, any of the people that can help influence um the consumer and their perception about our product, we want to have an influence on. And so uh we do things on a daily basis so that producers don't have to worry about them and they can do what they do best, and that's raise a phenomenal product that is enjoyed worldwide.
SPEAKER_01:If folks want to find out more information on the Nebraska Beef Council or maybe even just get some new beef recipes, where should they go?
SPEAKER_02:Well, they can always log on to our website, nebeef.org. Uh, but you know, we've also linked there to beefitswhat's for dinner.com. That is, you know, the place where there are thousands of recipes for any cut. We actually just have a new recipe on there for beef tallow pie crust. So whatever you're looking for, whatever cut or occasion, we've got the recipe for it.
SPEAKER_01:Beef tallows like become it's come back again. People are using it, putting it on their face and for uh, right? Am I did I see something?
SPEAKER_02:No, yes, they're using it for their face, for their hands, um, a little bit, a little bit of everything, but it has come back. Um, you know, in the cooking world, it has become uh a real thing for chefs again, and food service outlets are are carrying it. And so it was important for us to be able to put a beef tallow pie crust recipe on there as well as some other recipes that use that as the substitute for oil, if you will. So there's everything old is new again.
SPEAKER_01:So, what's your favorite kind of beef?
SPEAKER_02:Ribeye steak.
SPEAKER_01:And how do you have it cooked?
SPEAKER_02:Medium rare.
SPEAKER_01:Good answer. I've got one of my daughters to medium rare, the rest are all medium. I blame my wife for that, but there is only one way to cook a steak, and it is medium rare, and no one is ever going to convince me otherwise. I realize there's differences of opinion, but I'm right on that.
SPEAKER_02:I I can't agree more. And and today, this morning, um, yesterday we had some sirloin steaks for lunch, and I always make extra. And so for my freshman, um, I was cutting up a steak for her for a steak salad that she was going to eat at noon, and and it was very much medium rare. And she's like, Oh, that's perfect, mom. Raised her right, I think.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so here's what makes a a dad very proud. So I was having lunch with my middle daughter at Oklahoma State University last Friday at the ranchers club, and she ordered a steak for lunch, and she said, Cook it medium rare. It's like, I've succeeded. I have educated, I have brought this young woman upright. She now knows how a steak is to be cooked.
SPEAKER_02:There's nothing left for you to do. Good job.
SPEAKER_01:So so you so you guys raise cattle. Uh, who's better, uh, who's a better cattle hand? Is it you, your husband, or your daughters?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I would have to say it's it's it's Brian for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Because he does all the tough jobs.
SPEAKER_02:He does all the tough jobs, and a lot of times he's there by himself. And so I am always amazed at things he can do on his own. So it would have to be, it would have to be him for sure.
SPEAKER_01:So it lets that's a very personal question. Have you ever had an argument with your husband while loading cattle or working cattle?
SPEAKER_02:Um, is there anyone that has correct?
SPEAKER_01:It's my family protest. Yeah, the uh last time that happened, they just drove off and left me.
SPEAKER_02:So yes, well, and you know, I I was raised that way. I mean, I can remember sorting cattle with my dad, and I was like eight or nine years old, and and he's yelling at me, and uh I can I can vividly see it uh back back in the day. So I guess I was trained that way. But at the end of the day, we all work together and the work gets done, and that's what it's all about.
SPEAKER_01:So if you weren't serving the beef industry, what career would you have chosen instead?
SPEAKER_02:You know, that is that's a tough question because I always knew I wanted to be involved in agriculture. I mean, my ultimate job was gonna be, I was gonna be the new Julie McCoy off of the love boat. See, that's how that's how old I am. Um that's actually perfect for you. Yeah. Yeah. That, you know, because she was that goodwill ambassador on on the television show. Um, it, you know, it always had to be in agriculture. And I'm just so blessed that it was it's it was me from the very beginning, and it's uh it's been an absolutely wonderful career that I wouldn't trade for anything.
SPEAKER_01:I think we first met this a long time ago. Either was it a 4-H camp or NAYI or some ag related. I mean, you were at every one of them. If I was there, I mean, uh I think you were at every ag related summer camp that existed that they ever offered, you were at every one.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. Well, you know, 4-H, that was that was what I did. Obviously, I played sports, but you know, I had an older sister that was an extension agent at the time, and my dad was on the fair board. And you look at the the skills that you can build, you know, from the speech contest, demonstration contest. I never did livestock judging, but um there was a lot of skills that could be gained. And, you know, that's the other part that I love about 4-H and now FFA that my daughters are involved in it, is, you know, when they go to college, and like my older daughter, just like me, she knew half the people on campus because of those 4-H and FFA events and being able to show livestock and and go to state FFA convention. And we have such a wonderful foundation of friendships through agriculture and and those organizations that um I don't I think if you if you are not involved in it, you really don't understand. And those friendships truly do last a lifetime.
SPEAKER_01:So, Anne-Marie, we ask everyone this. You get one word. What is your one word that to you, not to anyone else, but to you, best describes this place in which you were born and raised, where you attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and where you've served the Nebraska Beef Council for nearly three decades. What's your one word for Nebraska?
SPEAKER_02:I had to think about this one. Pride.
SPEAKER_01:Can you explain?
SPEAKER_02:Uh I can explain that. So, you know, there is there is no place like Nebraska. Uh, I mean, when we do tours for influencers and people from all across the United States and even over overseas, there's no other state where you can come and go to a ranch, a feedlot, a vet clinic, a corn farm, and a packing plant in less than 24 hours. We have it all here. And I am so proud to showcase that to people when they come here. Same thing with the university. Um, you know, my whole family, we went to the university and Ryan and I, and and our one daughter, and hopefully our other daughter will end up being there too. And I just have a lot of pride for um for the university and just our beef industry as a whole. I've always said that part of the reason I've done this job is for people like my dad and for my brother who raise cattle every day. And they are working hard, they're doing great work, and they're phenomenal people. They take pride in what they do every day, and I take pride in working for them. And so that's really the the word that I would choose to describe all of those things.
SPEAKER_01:Anne-Marie, you have been a wonderful uh advocate for the beef industry in the state of Nebraska. Uh again, thank you for all that you have done and continue to do.
SPEAKER_02:Well, thank you, Mark. I appreciate it very much. And uh, you know, I I hope if anyone ever has questions or if they have any ideas, give us a call. We're some of our best ideas have come from phone calls from producers and consumers across the state. So we'd love to hear them and we love what we do. So thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Well, thanks for joining us. If you enjoyed this episode, consider subscribing on Apple, Spotify, or wherever it is you get your favorite podcast at. Share it with someone, someone who maybe doesn't know a lot about Nebraska beef or needs to uh learn more about it, or anyone who might find it of interest. Keep on listening as we release additional episodes on Nebraska. It's great communities, Nebraska's number one industry agriculture, and the folks who make it happen.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks. This is Rim93, the podcast. Sponsored by Nebraska's Welfare.
