The saying might be, “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” but I am not sure I totally agree. I think more along the lines of, “The more things change, the more we need to learn to change with them.”

Change isn’t always easy. It comes easier for those of us in Generation X than for our parents or grandparents, but not as easily as it does for our children. I’ve always tried to look at change as a positive, especially when it is to better myself. After all, we can’t farm or raise livestock the same as our parents did.

When I first went to college, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Little did I know how much my life would be affected when I realized being a vet really wasn’t the right path, and adding a journalism minor would really get me on my way to where I am today.

I often think about the wisdom of our ancestors, and how they may not have realized the path on which they would lead their future generations. My grandma lived most of her 95 years on our family farm. I often think about all the changes she saw in farming in her lifetime. She would talk about growing up watching her father and grandfather work in the fields, using actual horsepower — the four-legged kind.

Tractors come to farm

We still have the Farmall Super M tractor, which was one of the first tractors on our farm. My son is restoring this tractor, which is another story for another time. The Super M was a tractor my grandma would drive from time to time, when needed. It’s also the tractor I learned to drive first and spent many hours on raking hay in the summer.

When my dad purchased the John Deere loader tractor, which we use nearly daily now, my grandma was amazed at all the bells and whistles it had as compared to what was used prior. The fact that it had a cab with air conditioning and heat seemed like a luxury to her.

The technologies which came next, such as autosteer, were unreal to my grandma. I remember returning from the Farm Progress Show about seven years ago and telling her about a tractor which didn’t even need a driver, and how the company who had it said this could be very realistic in the coming years. That even amazed me.

It makes me wonder what changes we will see in agriculture for the rest of my lifetime and that of my children. One thing is for certain, the advancements we see will help farmers be better at their job and continue to raise food, fiber and fuel for consumers around the world.