Wow, you are so wise to say, "I have no appetite for using a program for a few years only to replace it with something else and start over." I know several consultants that are on their third to fifth program by now, having become disenchanted that the previous software of choice, usually because they lacked the commitment to grunt it out and really learn it.

I am going to offer a few comments, most of which you are probably already wise enough to have considered, so perhaps you'll find it a little boring. In February, I did a presentation at the NAICC Precision Ag Workshop in Atlanta on this very topic. I'll copy and paste some of the points below.

FIRST:

When choosing software and other precision ag tools, look for three features:

• Easy
• Economical
• Effective

Choose which two are most important to you and find an application that fits.

SECOND:

• Find a company with the kind of tech support you need
• Find a company that has reasonably priced upgrades.
• Ask how many installations per license?

– BE CAREFUL, as some companies consider these to be areas of key revenue

Advice on getting started:

• Find a partner who uses or will use what you are going with
• Share secrets with one another.
• GRIT YOUR TEETH and MAKE IT WORK
• Don’t “jump ship” too soon to another application and have to start a lot of learning over.

• get out of the truck or office and do your field work for you.
• do your thinking for you.
• do enough that your spreadsheet and database skills current will never be needed again.

I'll sum up by saying that I am a very satisfied Farm Works user, for ten years now, and find it very adequate. There are some applications out there that are high on my list, MapShots, SMS, for example, though, that I would be very, very confident with. The one thing about MapShots that I admire is that the man who writes most of the codes owns the company, a great asset when it comes to customer service; Farm Works employees, some of them, also own part of their parent company, CTN data, however.

Good Luck!