Brad Scholarship Recipient

Today I have the distinct pleasure of announcing and publicly congratulating the 2026 recipient of the Brad Scholarship, August Nelson, a prospective graduate of Bertrand High School, Bertrand, Nebraska.

This year we received applications from 56 individuals with a wide range of interests across the ag spectrum, and 14 of our 22 committee members sat as voters to select our recipient. We work with the Northern Colorado Community Foundation, which sets the guidelines for distribution amounts.

Our pool of applicants this year was very interesting. For the first time, we had grad students apply. We also had one past winner reapply, and we have many more states represented.

The quality shown in the applications was fantastic. It is so heartening to read about the hopes and dreams of the next generation of people working in agriculture and ag-adjacent careers. Truly, I wish we could have given money to everyone.

There is no restriction on the number of times a person can apply for the scholarship. The new application will open Feb. 1, 2027. I hope to see the names of many of these applicants again next year.

If you think that supporting people beginning ag and ag-adjacent careers sounds like a pretty good idea, please consider a gift to our foundation fund. And thank you!