During a recent trip through Illinois — to include a couple of farm equipment dealer visits — one precision farming specialist offered a candid prediction about how intertwined technology and machinery will become in the near future.

After running the gauntlet of dozens of precision farming or ag electronics exhibits at my first Farm Progress Show last month in Boone, Iowa, I can honestly say it took a few days to physically recover and mentally digest the wealth of information shared during the event.

While traversing the grounds at the Midwest Ag-Industries Exposition last week in Bloomington, Ill., it didn’t take long to find out what was on the minds of dealers and manufacturers, beyond the beautiful weather that accompanied the event.

Good customer service is often based on flexibility and that certainly applies to precision ag specialists.

During the last few weeks, I had the pleasure of getting to know some of the international players in the precision farming industry.

A little more than a month into my role as technology editor for Farm Equipment and No-Till Farmer, I am doing my best impression of a sponge, soaking up as much precision knowledge as my brain can hold.

While catching a glimpse of where precision farming technology is headed at the John Deere Technology Summit in Des Moines last week, at times, I felt as though I was on the set of a new science fiction movie.

As much as I’ve enjoyed visiting with our readers on this page during the past few months, you’ll have a new face to look at starting with the next issue of Precision Farming Dealer

Considering how rapidly precision farming is penetrating row-crop farming, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that its impact is touching all areas of agriculture. But precision farming for gardeners?

Monsanto describes itself as “a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.” Best known for its development and marketing of advanced seed traits for pest and drought resistance, the fact is Monsanto is one of agriculture’s 800-pound gorillas.