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The feasibility study of using machine vision technology to locate corn plants was conducted to determine its potential in the development of an intelligent detasseling machine. A corn plant feature, the main vein of leaf, was used and the method of feature detection was developed for corn plant identification. Experimental results showed that the leaf feature and the center of the plant can be detected and located using image processing techniques when an image is taken from above of a plant. This research showed that it is possible to identify and locate the corn plant using machine vision technology.

Towed vibratory rollers are still commonly used for many soil compaction projects. Pneumatic tire vibration dampers are used for isolating vibration excited by drum frequency generation devices. Static stiffness of these air vibration dampers is different from standard tires. The configuration of the tire shell is an important influence upon damper stiffness. The vibration transmissibility can be changed by adjusting tire pressure to obtain the isolation effect desired within a small range.

Farmers are a small group, mostly college educated who run multi-million dollar yearly operations. Recent favorable economics has allowed this sector to look at new technology and determine the best way to invest in it. New considerations in the last few years have led to minimum/alternative tillage and planting, site specific farming decisions and small technology groups of farmers. The authors have put together their thoughts and wants which should be evaluated by future suppliers of technology and farm machinery.

Fluid power is used extensively in forestry equipment with some novel applications of hydraulics to fell, move and process logs and trees. Hydraulic components undergo rugged use under severe conditions, over long periods of minimal maintenance. Selected hydraulic designs are illustrated and discussed. Design features for service requirements on forestry equipment are detailed.

During the next ten years the United States will experience a change in farm structure. A smaller number of farms will be producing more food. Both very small and very large farms will increase in numbers. They will change to be more diversified in production, utilize on-farm processing of consumer products, and apply advances in automation. These changes are needed to provide consumers food that is cost and quality competitive in worldwide markets. This paper is intended to instill the reader into becoming aware of the changes in technology, marketing, banking, labor and population interests. These trends will direct new farm mechanization towards intelligent machines capable of doing a multitude of tasks. Advances in vision systems, lasers, speech recognition, and bubble memory will be incorporated into mechanized robots and controlled traffic systems. In no way is this paper to be construde as a forecast because the direction of technology can not be forecasted.

Forecasting the sales of combines and tractors in today's ever changing and volatile marketplace is a difficult task; moreover, it is becoming increasingly important to manufacturers whose goal is to maximize profits with just-in-time policies. Farmers are independent business managers who react to a variety of factors and a unique set of circumstances. Predicting how these individuals will respond to changes in the economic atmosphere is an even more perplexing task than forecasting their business environment. Individually, some farmers may choose to postpone machinery purchases when their cashflow is reduced. Collectively, farmers react to certain factors in a more cohesive manner. For example, if farm commodity prices rise and interest rates are relaxed the agricultural sector will undoubtably increase machinery purchases. Therefore, Federal government policies and also fiscal and monetary policies affect both the farmer's income and the associated agricultural industries sales.