Having the opportunity to host the winter meeting of the Independent Precision Ag Alliance at our home office in Brookfield, Wis., last winter, I wanted to make an impression on the dealers who made the trip to attend.

Taking pride in a job well done brings with it a sense of satisfaction and validation that the blood, sweat and tears poured into a task were worth it. In my experience, pride is also born out of passion.

A prolonged cold snap has settled into most of the U.S., with unseasonably frigid temperatures stretching across most of the nation. While many of us look forward to thawing out, the frigid stretch is a welcome change for some precision farming dealers, especially in the Midwest, who saw a frantic finish to 2017.

As many of us scramble to meet those rapidly approaching end of the year deadlines — both personal and professional — we are also preparing for the new year.

Returning from an educational and enriching visit to present our 2018 Most Valuable Dealership (MVD) award last week, I’ve had time to reflect on the reasons why our independent judging panel selected the winner of the 6th annual program.