We are having a bit of a day at LaBudde as I write this… our internet is down. Seems like this shouldn’t be too much of an interruption, really how much are you on the internet, oh wait ….. almost everything runs on the internet. As we progress, we seem to rely more and more on our connections. We email, we skype, we instant message, or send a text to our customers and suppliers. We only have a couple millennials in our office, but we have a pretty computer savvy group. So we all have to stop and think about how we find our information when the internet goes down. Technology is growing all the time in Agriculture. Tractors can drive themselves, cows have RFID ear tags that log each time they are milked and how many pounds of milk were produced for that milking, and our cell phones can tell us what corn traded for today. Overall our industry is still more of a client relationship driven business than technology driven. Though a computer helps us organize our information so we can work more efficiently, the true core of our success is built on getting to know our customers and talking through what they need. One size doesn’t fit all. We have such a wide array of clients and suppliers. So with the loss of internet/email we will spend today connecting. Sometimes things happen in life that make us slow down and look at our roots and remind us of what is important. Connections via a nice phone conversation is a skill that is slowly going away. We are all busy and trying to do multiple things at once. We need to remind ourselves to connect to other people. Have you said “HI” to your neighbor lately? Have you called your parents or your kids and asked what is going on? Do you check in with the consultants that keep your farm running smoothly to see what new information may be available for you? Maybe we all need a day without internet. CAN YOU IMAGINE???? If anything, it will help up appreciate all the amazing technology that helps us feed the world every day. Especially when it lets us read interesting blogs online!!! So now while I wait for our internet to get fixed so we can upload this for everyone to enjoy, I will try to manually track down phone numbers, fax paperwork to folks, and call clients with updates on shipments. I hope your day goes well and you find some new connections.