It’s hard to believe that only a year has passed since our editors assembled the first print edition of this publication. Reading through that inaugural issue again, one of the first things that came to mind was how much the precision farming industry has evolved in just a short time.

As a semi-avid user of social media outlets, I’ve come to terms with the fact that conversations with friends and professional colleagues now often start with ‘I saw on Facebook that you’… (insert activity here.)

I’ll admit to being a little old-fashioned when it comes to exchanging contact information with precision farming professionals I have the pleasure of meeting while attending events or visiting dealerships.

Having recently shuffled bedroom space at our house to accommodate the new addition to our family, one of the top priorities for my oldest son was making sure his Nintendo Wii was reconnected, post haste.

Working the National No-Tillage Conference this year with my colleagues from No-Till Farmer, I probably heard as many different opinions on the benefits and challenges associated with precision farming technology as there are brands of equipment on the market.

When our garage door opener recently decided to take a permanent vacation, I temporarily convinced my better half that we could survive with manual operation.

Having the opportunity to attend dealer events lets me attach faces to the names of precision farming specialists who I may have only known as a voice on the phone or a through a series of email exchanges.

When it comes to putting a price tag on precision service, dealers tell me they sometimes struggle with deciding on a dollar amount that ideally should boost the bottom line, but also avoid giving customers sticker shock.

With the holiday season nearly upon us, I largely look forward to this time of year and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.

Growing up, I was a fan of the so-called ‘spaghetti’ westerns, especially the ones where Clint Eastwood squinted his way through a series of prolonged gunfights with a lit cigar clenched between his teeth.