EVEN after seeing General Motors scale back production and then eventually close its Holden plant at Elizabeth, I never really thought the writing was on the wall for the entire Holden brand.
But then news broke last week that GM would close dealerships and stop producing Holden cars for the Australian market.
I'm no car nut but to me Holden is as Australian as the summer barbecue, the Hills Hoist and Vegemite. It's strange to think that the brand simply won't exist in a couple of years.
The announcement came less than a week out from the Superloop Adelaide 500 at the weekend - an event I must confess I have little interest in beyond hoping Holden will finish ahead of Ford each year.
Like the AFL's Showdown, rugby's State of Origin or cricket's Ashes, victory is always a little bit sweeter when it comes over a bitter rival, and Holden versus Ford was the ultimate rivalry.
My family owned Holden utes throughout much of my childhood, and I learnt to drive on the road in a Commodore, with my head full of delusions that I looked just like Mark Skaife tearing around Bathurst.
It's a bit sad to think Australians have fallen out of love with the modern Holden to the point GM has decided to pull the plug altogether.
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But what's this got to do with agriculture? Not a great deal, truth be told, beyond perhaps a reminder of the importance of staying abreast of market trends and consumer preferences, and being willing to adapt and evolve production accordingly.
Thankfully, agriculture in this state faces a much brighter future, even though there remain plenty of challenges on the horizon.
If the technology, innovation and creative ideas on display at the AdvanceAg showcase in Adelaide on Monday are anything to go by, then agriculture is set for an exciting revolution in the coming decades.
The products and concepts being developed by agtech startups across the country have the ability to transform how farmers go about their business.
Let's remember, concepts like no till farming or scanning ewes were once only embraced by a handful of farmers, before the results began to speak for themselves.
It's proof that much of what we view as pie-in-the-sky ideas or cutting-edge technologies will become common practice across the next few decades.
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