Farm Management Update

Quarterly Publication of Ohio State University Extension

Fall 2002

Jim Polson

Thank you, Jim Polson

Jim Polson has retired from Ohio State University Extension. Among his most notable accomplishments is serving as "founding father" and editor of the Farm Management Update. He encouraged authors, found reviewers, put the final touches on articles and handled most of the behind-the-scenes work. His success is best illustrated by the fact that more than 26,000 copies of the newsletter are now distributed four times per year.

His vision was a newsletter that helped farm management people look ahead. Titles of a few articles illustrate: Introduction of BST (1989), Computerization of Farm Records—12% of Farms Have Computers (1989), How will NAFTA Affect Ohio Agriculture (1992), Introduction to Pork Contracts (1994), Are You Ready for the Internet (1996), Introduction to the Green Industry (1998) and E-Commerce (2001). In 1993, the newsletter featured a panel of Ohio agricultural leaders looking ahead 10 years. They said the key attributes of Ohio agriculture in 2002 would be diverse, management intensive, urban refinanced and encroached upon. That panel earned an A+ for their insights about the future. Jim, we thank you for an exceptional job of helping all of your readers to stay focused on what is ahead rather than lament what has changed. Your grade too is an A+.