We’re officially less than a month away from one of my favorite weeks of the year … the 4th annual Precision Specialist Week, sponsored by Reichhardt, August 16-22!

Dealers, growers and manufacturers will once again celebrate the hard work and dedication of the experts involved in making today’s precision farming systems operate efficiently. We’ve honored over 70 precision specialists during this special week over the past 3 years.

There’s still plenty of time to add your hard-working precision specialists to the list for 2026 — click HERE to submit your nominations. So far, the submissions have been pouring in and we look forward to sharing them with you very soon.

In the meantime, I figured now would be a great time to share a few of my favorite stories from Precision Specialist Weeks of years past, in the words of those who know them best.

Jack Bartholomew, Bottom Line Solutions (Morton, Ill.)

Jack is a hero to many farmers each spring and fall when planters and combines hit the fields. If he's heard it once, he's heard it a hundred times, “it worked when I put it away for the season."

Whether it's working with a customer on the phone, or on-hand service support, his ability to troubleshoot the most advanced problem(s) is amazing. He is not one to just bandage a situation. He gets to the heart of the issue and resolves it the right way. Jack can think beyond the problem to figure out the issue at hand. 

There have been many times he has been called after hours or on the weekends, and without hesitation he is there to get our customers back up and going. He has a converted ambulance that is fully stocked with parts (like a store on wheels), along with a hydraulic maker that he takes on service calls and installs. It provides the tools that he needs to get the job done. To provide the best result for a customer, Jack has even slept overnight in the service ambulance. He provided service for the late-night issue and was there first thing in the morning when that customer was ready to hit the field. 

Story submitted by Melissa Mohr (Morton, Ill.) 

Felipe Zavla, Vantage Northwest (Fruitland, Idaho)

Felipe was dedicated to precision agriculture from the day he applied. It took him 2 years and lots of interviews before he was ever hired — he has no quit in him. 

Felipe cares deeply for customer service. It doesn’t matter the time of day or the day of the week, Felipe will take the customer's call and if he can't fix the issue over the phone, if the problem can't wait until the next day, Felipe is on the road to get them going. Felipe has recently been promoted to a technology sales position within Vantage Northwest.

I have never seen anybody in the precision ag industry like Felipe. He is never happy with his knowledge of the industry and is always trying to further his understanding. When he is away from work, he spends his time researching products and trying to find ways to help him better serve his customers and help provide solutions to the issue they face on their individual farms.

I have worked in several different industries and in different sides of those industries in my life, and I can honestly say that I have never seen a person more dedicated to his customer, to his team and to the products we offer than Felipe.

Story submitted by James Merrill (Kimberly, Idaho)

Jodan Batman, BTI (Great Bend, Kan.)

If you Google the term “workaholic” I am 97% sure that you would find a picture of Jordan Batman. With a background as a Radio Frequency Transmissions Specialist in the Air Force National Guard, Jordan’s passion for technology has shined through his work in precision agriculture.

Raised on a farm in rural central Kansas, he has never known what it means to have a day off. He grew up tending cattle and working fields with his father and younger brother in northern Stafford County and is now putting these skills to use as the Integrated Solutions Specialist for BTI at their Great Bend location. Although the Great Bend store is his “home base” he serves farmers all over central and western Kansas and has traveled as far as Texas to install/trouble shoot equipment for his customers.

Jordan understands that farming is not a Monday-Friday, 8-5, job and has made this abundantly clear to his customers who all have his personal cell phone number. They are repeatedly assured that they can call him any time, day or night, if they have questions or equipment issues they cannot figure out.

More often than not, Jordan is one of the first employees to arrive at the store in the morning and one of the last ones to leave; always making sure the loose ends are tied up before he leaves for the day. If he is unable to find the root of the customer’s issue before leaving for the day, you will find Jordan on our couch late at night with his IPAD trouble shooting from home. Getting his farmers back in the field with equipment running is always his top priority. He understands that not being in the field during those crucial times of the year that can be detrimental to a small farmer and that their livelihood is usually dependent on their equipment working correctly.  

During the summer, you will see Jordan multi-tasking from the sidelines of his daughter’s softball games, coaching third base while trying to help a customer out with minor problems over the phone. At a family event you can catch him talking shop with his uncles and cousins who farm in southwest Kansas; always trying to boost efficiency and increase productivity. Our family vacations are planned around the “busy seasons” to make sure he is available to his customers during the times they need his services most.

Jordan is dedicated not only to his employment at BTI, but to his community. He aims to have his least tech savvy customers understand the technology they are using and the benefits they are gaining from having the systems available to them. Having the systems in place will never be enough for him if his customers do not understand how, and why, they are using them; his educational services are top notch. He, along with his fellow Integrated Solutions Specialists, host several training/educational seminars throughout the year in the areas of Kansas they cover. Jordan gives back to the youth of Barton and Stafford Counties by helping with the Children’s Ag Day each year as he knows how instrumental these activities are to keeping children interested in agriculture and eventually bringing them back to our area. Jordan is one of the hardest working men I know and gives his all, day in and day out, to see the farming community grow and thrive here in central Kansas.

Story submitted by Alyx Batman (Great Bend, Kan.)

Click here to read all 70-plus stories from the first 3 Precision Specialist Weeks!