Perfect Vision

Perfect Vision

The Last Word: Editor’s Notes by Ann Clinton

Would this even be my column if I didn’t write about the new year and compare it to vision? How can I not? It’s like I’ve waited my whole life for the opportunity to queue this page up with cliché references.

The truth of the matter is that we only get so many chances in our lifetime to start a new decade. This is one of them. I believe it deserves serious contemplation. If we want to start with optimism, we need to take a good look at reality. Only then can we take the lessons we’ve learned into the future.

The last few years for our family have quite literally been about vision. My oldest daughter, Grace, has had several major surgeries around her eyes. No surgery is a good time, but these particular operations were brutal.

Grace has put in her fair share of time at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She has been blessed with incredible

endocrinologists, ophthalmologists and surgeons and we’re grateful for their expertise. As a mother, I’ve sat in waiting rooms wrestling with worry, while begging for progress updates. In contrast, I’ve walked the halls, feeling a strange sense of gratitude that my daughter’s plight was not near as severe as many others who shared the hospital floor with her.

As a result of Grace’s experiences, we’ve learned a lot about how vision works. I’ll forever be in awe of how our bodies function and how one small thing can have a considerable impact, good or bad, on our overall health. Vision is a beautiful gift, one that truly impacts the quality of life, especially if it’s compromised or lost. It’s worth thinking about, planning for or even fighting for.

Therefore, I’m challenging you to analyze your “vision” as we start in 2020. Now is the perfect time to take a personal audit of your farming operation. What were the pivotal moments of the last 10 years?

Can you identify five decisions that transformed your business? What tools of technology have served you well? What old practices do you need to reconsider? What do you hope to have accomplished 10 years from now? What’s your plan to get there? Iowa Soybean Review staff interviewed Iowa farmers in this issue about what the reality of farming looks like right now on their operations. We also sought out industry experts for advice on how to prepare for the future. Times are rough. That message is clear. However, I was overwhelmed by the response of optimism moving forward. Please email me. Let me know your thoughts about what you read in this issue. Let me know what your goals are for the next decade.

They say hindsight is 20/20, but for all practical purposes, foresight must happen in 2020. I hope you consider the Iowa Soybean Review as a partner in your operation this year. Go get ‘em.

aclinton@iasoybeans.com