A Look Back at a Memorable Moment in Precision Ag History

Legend has it that sometime during a summer ag technology event in 1997, an Illinois farmer named Doug Harford was asked to take part in what would become a memorable, almost iconic, moment in precision agriculture history.

Harford, an attendee at the meeting, had a healthy appetite for the latest-greatest wave of products and systems emerging at the time. He was asked to stand atop an all-terrain vehicle, surrounded by vendors holding up samples of their offerings, for a photo that would appear on the cover of the PrecisionAg Buyer’s Guide. He threw his hands in the air and struck a pose of confusion over all the options as the vendors foisted their wares upon him.

The photo was effective in its demonstration of the myriad technology options available to farmers. But in retrospect, it also accurately portrayed the struggle technology end-users have faced over the past two decades to sort out, implement, and extract value from precision agriculture products and systems.

The latter seemed to end up being the case for Doug. While travelling during the mid-2000s, I caught up with him at his farm for a quick chat. He’d stepped off the “bleeding edge” of tech adoption by that time to recapture his passion for the practice of farming that became diluted in those early technology years. Fleeting value and oversold benefits took their toll.

I was sad to learn of Doug’s passing this past August. I still use the image in presentations I give to ask the question, “are we delivering value, or are we simply pushing out technology to the ultimate detriment of farmers?”

Godspeed, Mr. Harford, and thank you for that smack of reality you delivered all those years ago. It shapes my thinking to this day.