Lincoln, Neb. —The Steve Nelson Yeutter Institute International Trade Internship Award from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s (UNL) Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance honors a longtime Nebraska Farm Bureau leader, as it helps students gain valuable experience in the nation’s Capital. Applications for the internship award are now open and due February 18, 2021. More information is available at https://yeutter-institute.unl.edu/nelson-yeutter-international-trade-internship-award.
The new internship award honors Steve Nelson, who served for nearly 20 years on the Nebraska Farm Bureau (NEFB) board of directors and was president from 2011-2020. As president, Nelson participated in numerous trade missions including travel to Vietnam, Taiwan, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Japan, and South Korea. Under his nine-year tenure as NEFB president, he continuously advocated for opening international markets for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers. Nelson farms near Axtell in south central Nebraska and produces irrigated corn, hybrid seed corn, and soybeans.
“While at Nebraska Farm Bureau, Steve Nelson stressed the importance of trade in Nebraska, and providing this opportunity to young people in agriculture seems like a great way to carry on his legacy,” said Mark McHargue, newly elected president of Nebraska Farm Bureau.
"Because of Nebraska Farm Bureau's extensive involvement in the trade arena and support for agricultural youth and leadership development, we felt that this internship was a perfect match for these priorities," McHargue said. “Agriculture will benefit in the long term because youth receiving this award will learn how to influence future agricultural trade policy.”
The award will support a student interested in agricultural trade to complete a trade policy internship in Washington, D.C.
“Internships are critical for professional development and career exploration, and we are grateful for the Nebraska Farm Bureau’s partnership in honoring Steve Nelson’s service through an award that will allow a student to work in the heart of the trade policy community in Washington, D.C.,” said Jill O’Donnell, director of the Yeutter Institute. “Borrowing from the words of our namesake Clayton Yeutter, our goal is to equip students to be ‘broad and creative and global’ in their thinking, and this award will help us do just that.”
The first award recipient will be selected this spring. The award program will provide $6,000 annually for a UNL student with sophomore standing or above to intern full-time in the summer with the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) in Washington, D.C. WITA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing a neutral forum for the open and robust discussion of international trade policy and related issues. The student will gain valuable exposure to and experience with trade policy issues and trade leaders in business, agriculture, law, academia, non-governmental organizations, embassies, and the U.S. Government. The award is supported by donations from the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation and a Yeutter Institute donor.
Gifts in honor of the Steve Nelson Yeutter Institute International Trade Internship Award may be directed to the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Donations can be made online at www.nefbfoundation.org or mailed to Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, P.O. Box 80299 Lincoln, NE 68501.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service and advocacy efforts. More than 58,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska’s economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org.
The vision of University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumnus and renowned trade expert Clayton Yeutter, the Yeutter Institute connects academic disciplines related to law, business and agriculture in order to prepare students for leadership roles in international trade and finance, support interdisciplinary research and increase public understanding of these issues. For more information about the Yeutter Institute, visit yeutter-institute.unl.edu.