Thirty-five years ago, around Thanksgiving, Â Clayton Yeutter was focused on using American trade laws to negotiate on behalf of the United States for the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. As the U.S. Trade Representative in the Reagan administration, one of his main goals was to make it easier for farmers to buy and sell their products across borders.
Hy het sy raadgewers gevra om 'n plan op te stel vir lande om hul subsidies te sny, tariewe, en marktoegangsversperrings. Hulle het teruggekom met 'n voorstel om dit te verminder 50 persent oor tien jaar. Toe hulle hul konsep voorgelê het, Yeutter het daarna gekyk en die uitgekrap 50 en dit vervang met 100 persent. As a skilled negotiator, he realized that if you want to get to fifty, jy moet by honderd begin.
Clayton got buy-in from the Secretary of Agriculture, sy mede-kabinetsbeampte, and the United States set the table for what became one of the most important trade pacts ever negotiated in human history.
This story and many others are included in a new biography that talks about his role in global trade at this point in America’s history. The title, "Rym met Vegter: Clayton Yeutter Amerikaanse staatsman,†is a reference to what Yeutter would say when a person asked the pronunciation of his last name. He was an extraordinary public servant and statesman whose efforts in support of cross-border business and free trade are still having a positive impact on agriculture and farmers.
Ek het Clayton in die laaste jare van sy lewe leer ken. Ons het op 'n basiese vlak verbind: Hy was 'n plaasseun van Nebraska en ek was 'n plaasmeisie van Iowa. Ons was albei geïnteresseerd in openbare beleid, veral met betrekking tot landbou. Hy het vir vier presidente gewerk, en ek het vir 'n goewerneur gewerk.
His career was prestigious—after serving as U.S. Handelsverteenwoordiger onder president Reagan, hy was Sekretaris van Landbou onder president George H.W. Bush—he was a busy man whose advise was sought out by many, maar hy het homself nooit as te belangrik of besig vir my gesien nie. Ek het 'n openlike uitnodiging geniet om hom op besoeke aan Washington te sien, D.C., en hy het aktief in die Global Farmer Network belang gestel omdat hy geglo het in die missie van ons boere-geleide en uitgesproke organisasie wat pleit vir beter handelsbeleide en toegang tot wetenskap-gebaseerde tegnologie in die landbou.
Oor 'n aantal jare en ontbytvergaderings, hy het 'n modelmentor geword: a person who shared his experience and advice and expected nothing in return.  While his expertise and perspective were sought out, dit was ook baie ongevraagde notas en e-posse van aanmoediging van hom wat subtiele en belangrike bevestiging gegee het van die werk en boodskappe wat die boere van die Global Farmer Network wêreldwyd deel.
Clayton Yeutter het gesterf in 2017, but the book brings him back to life. I can see that broad grin and hear his voice saying: “Ons moet die wêreldhandel in landbou liberaliseer, sodat voedselvoorrade kan vloei waar dit nodig is. Trade barriers must be made more expensive for countries that resort to them.â€
Hierdie beginsel was fundamenteel tot sy lewenswerk, terwyl hy voortgegaan het om handelsooreenkomste met Kanada te onderhandel, Japan, die Europese Unie, en die hele wêreld. Clayton Yeutter het die lewe vir boere in sy eie tyd beter gemaak en sy invloed maak steeds boere beter daaraan toe.
As I prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States with my family this week, I have much to be thankful for. Included in that long list are the mentors I have been privileged to have in my life. And this year, special gratitude for the remarkable legacy and friendship of Clayton Yeutter.