n-yeutter

Eustis, Nebraska and Washington, D.C. are pretty far apart, but Clayton Yeutter was able to bridge the two using the power he gained in the nation’s capital to improve agricultural trade for the Midwest. 

His biography, “Rhymes with Fighter: Clayton Yeutter, American Statesman” was launched at the Sheldon Museum of Art on Nov. 4. The biography was written by Joseph Weber, associate professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Besides being asked to write the biography by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green, Weber was very tied to Yeutter’s story. 

“I would not have undertaken this if the subject did not interest me,” said Weber. “He interested me because Yeutter was an arch believer in free trade. His belief that free trade would make us all better was inspiring. It is a classic rags-to-riches story.”

The book begins in the 1930s, with Yeutter growing up on his family’s farm in Eustis, Nebraska. On the 2,500 acre farm in central Nebraska is where Yeutter gained his understanding of agriculture. While serving time in the military and attending school, Weber said Yeutter still found time to operate his farm. 

“His father was not especially warm as a person and his mother was terrifically supportive,” Weber said. “And those two personal dynamics surprised me.” 

Yeutter left the farm to serve in the Air Force and continue his education at UNL, where he earned three degrees: a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry, a doctorate in agricultural economics and a law degree

He moved through firms practicing law and assumed the position of president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It’s one of the world's largest futures market that tracks benchmarks in stocks and can be used as a lead for markets

After seven years at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Yeutter became the U.S. Trade Representative under the Reagan Administration, Weber said. This position was likely Yeutter’s most distinguishable one, and it was also Yeutter's third time serving in a cabinet level position, Weber said. 

The U.S. Trade Representative is all about cutting trade deals, creating trade pacts, opening the world to trade and fighting with other countries who may have interfered with that. 

Yuetter continued working in Washington and was asked by President George H. W. Bush to be the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. His job was to encourage farmers to sell their corn and beef overseas to expand their markets, Weber said. 

“That was a very revolutionary thing,” Weber said.

After his time with President Bush, Yeutter continued following his passions of agriculture, international trade and law while representing clients and serving on many boards from 1992-2015. 

Yeutter died in 2017, but his legacy lives on at UNL at the Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance, a program where students take courses on the global economy and international trade. The Yeutter Institute also offers a student development professional program called Yeutter Student Fellows. 

Besides coursework, the Yeutter Institute offers students internship opportunities. One internship, the Steve Nelson Yeutter Institute International Trade Internship Award, is in the heart of the trade policy community in Washington D.C. Upon being accepted into the internship, students will be able to work directly with the executive director and managing director of the Washington International Trade Association on planning trade policy events and researching issues concerning agricultural trade. 

Jill O’Donnell, director of the Yeutter Institute and a professor of practice, said she teaches classes in international trade and politics. As the new director of the program, O’Donnell noticed a lot more work being done to bring the program together. More classes were added and as leaders in each college started to assume their positions, the program became more surreal. 

“It was really coming from the ground floor to build this institute,” O’Donnell said. 

Assuming her position in July 2018, she said she helped to establish three new faculty chairs, as Yeutter had envisioned for the program. The three colleges that make up the institute are the colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Law and Business. They were the three colleges Yeutter had studied in the most and were the most beneficial to his career. 

“He had a clear vision for what he wanted to see in this institute here at UNL,” O’Donnell said. “Which included the structure of the three chairs, that these colleges should absolutely be collaborating on this.” 

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