While acknowledging it was a “dangerous assignment,” traveling to Iraq to help local farmers there develop a thriving, self-sustaining agricultural industry was something USDA Conservationist Michael Clayton said was too important to pass up.

Clayton, who returned to his job at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Princeton on Feb. 19, spent a total of 16 months working with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service to help the Iraqi agricultural community as part of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).

One of the things Clayton said he worked with local farmers to do was to educate them about the different methods of farming and cooperative efforts among farming communities in other parts of the world, particularly the U.S. However, he said, the Iraqi government didn’t want to simply copy the traditions or culture of the Western world.

“We had to find an Iraqi solution to an Iraqi problem,” Clayton said. “They (the Iraqi government) wanted to bring back Iraqi pride in agriculture.”

He said one of the first steps, with the aid of an interpreter, was to teach local farmers how to raise their own chickens on a schedule that made them less dependent on the government for aid.

“They had no incentive to have cost controls,” he said, noting that the former government under Saddam Hussein’s administration simply gave farmers the feed and the chickens. “We had to change their mentality.”

Some of the steps in that process included educating the local farmers about how to feed and care for the animals, setting up a vaccine schedule, and keeping the water clean.

“It’s what all of our growers in the United States know what to do,” he said. “They needed to reduce feed loss. One-third of my time was spent helping local growers.”

Regarding the use of the interpreter, Clayton said it wouldn’t be possible to have done the job in Iraq without one.

“We were taught common greetings and common sayings,” Clayton said. “You’re not going to learn Arabic in a year, though.”

Clayton and other team members also worked to secure funding for the construction of several agriculture-related facilities, such as a $1.6 million poultry processing plant, a breeder house, and a hatchery.

Education about farming extended beyond just raising chickens, too. Clayton said part of the work focused on educating the farmers of the region — an area in the upper Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers — on how destructive overland flooding can be, and how to properly irrigate to help reduce the risk of damage.

“I feel really good about what was done on my watch,” Clayton said, noting one of his personal favorite achievements was helping a group of women establish a co-op.

“It’s very satisfying to help a group of women that have been oppressed,” he said.

Despite the progress, Clayton said the country of Iraq still has a long way to go before their agriculture industry is thriving.

“It’s going to take a long time,” he said. “They are still being challenged by whether their democracy is going to work. They’re going to have to have a strong leader to keep out people that want to destabilize the region.

“They still need to formulate their markets. They need to be presenting products in a better fashion. They’ve got to do a much better job of controlling costs. Everything is 40, 50, 60 years behind (the modern ag industry).”

He said controlling and improving breeding of livestock and crops through genetics is one of the farmers’ biggest challenges.

Clayton said during all of his 150 missions traveling in Iraq, he never felt like he was in danger.

“I always had a protective security detail,” he said, adding that he wasn’t “cleared” to discuss any military actions he observed.

When asked if he would go back to Iraq, Clayton said not if it meant giving up his nearly 30-year career with the USDA or time with his family.

Clayton is a 1978 graduate of Webster County High School.

According to a news release from the USDA, PRTs typically consist of as many as 100 military personnel and a few civilians.

“The PRT agricultural advisor is one of only a few civilians on the PRT,” the release stated. More information about the USDA’s PRT program is available at jobsearch.usajobs.gov/agency.aspx under the heading “Foreign Agricultural Service.”