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Of the 118 farms in the Southwest Association, the data for 111 farms are included in this report. The rest were omitted because the records were incomplete at the time of the preparation of this report. In addition to this report, members receive an annual farm business analysis, on-farm instructional visits, end-of-year income tax planning and preparation, periodic meetings, tours and seminars, a monthly newsletter, and other managerial and educational assistance. Each farmer pays an annual fee which covers the cost, with the balance defrayed by the University of Minnesota Extension and research programs of the University of Minnesota. The livestock enterprise summaries include data from both Southwest Minnesota Farm Business Management (FBM) Association farms and Minnesota State Farm Business Management program farms. This provides a greater number of instances for each enterprise with the goal of providing more accurate benchmark information. Minnesota State FBM programs are distributed across the state and include over 2,400 participating farms.

The average net farm income for the 106 farms included in the 2019 annual report of the Southwest Minnesota Farm Business Management Association showed improved margins for the year. Improved profitability of livestock enterprises coupled with government support payments provided much of the boost in profitability. The average farm earned $145,004 in 2019, up from just over $72,000 in 2018. Yet, earnings received in the recent past are still historically low compared to those received in the first half of the decade. Crop producers saw slightly higher net farm income for the year on average. Again, much of this was provided by the Federal farm program payments related to trade losses. The southwest area of the state experienced below trendline yields and unprecedented numbers of prevented plant acres in 2019 because of the yearlong weather challenges. Overall, crop farm operations were again challenged for the year due to weather, leading to the lowest crop yields most producers have experienced in recent years. Earnings for all types of livestock operations were up from the previous year, as commodity prices for major livestock types were all improved year over year.

Less than trendline yields, especially in corn, coupled with stagnant prices lead to a fourth consecutive year of decreased profitability for the 101 farms included in the 2018 annual report of the Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association. The average farm earned $72,056 in 2018, down from just under $85,000 in 2017. Earnings received in the recent past are historically low compared to those received in the first half of the decade. The average farm earned a rate of return on assets of only 2%. Crop farm incomes declined due to weather challenges throughout the year, leading to lowest crop yields for most producers in recent years. Earnings for all types of livestock operations were down somewhat from the previous year, as commodity prices for major livestock types were all lower year over year.

Even with a third consecutive year of record crop yields, profitability decreased slightly for the 104 farms included in the 2017 annual report of the Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association. The average farm earned $84,767 in 2017, down from just under $89,000 in 2016. Earnings received in the recent past are historically low compared to those received in the first half of the decade. The average farm earned a rate of return on assets of only 2%. Crop farm incomes declined due to lower yielding soybeans and lower prices received for corn. Earnings for all types of livestock operations were up somewhat from the previous year, but the median producer earned only $32,800 from farm operations.

Resistance to the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) was characterized in segregating populations from crosses of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] accession PI 71506 to susceptible cultivars, and compared to Rag1 resistance from the cultivar ‘Dowling.’ Two susceptible adapted cultivars were crossed with PI 71506 or Dowling. In no-choice greenhouse assays, resistance corresponded to a single dominant gene model for both the PI 71506-derived and Dowling-derived populations. Segregation of aphid resistance in SD1111RR × PI 71506 F2:3 populations in aphid field-cage trials also fit a single-gene model, as did segregation of aphid resistance in the F2:5 generation. However, other genetic effects may also contribute to aphid resistance from PI 71506. Comparison with Rag1 resistance from Dowling indicated that PI 71506 resistance was weaker than that associated with Rag1, but antixenosis resistance from PI 71506 was effective against an Ohio aphid biotype that has overcome Rag1 resistance.

Teleoptometry involves the transmission of digitized optometric information from a remote site for analysis by an expert. This project assessed computer compression of video data showing contact lens fitting relationships and the transmission of these data to a specialist for evaluationFifty-five sets of video clips showing dynamic fluorescein patterns of rigid gas-permeable lens fits, topographic corneal maps, and basic information on lens parameters were evaluated-live and again after digitization and electronic compression-by a contact lens specialist. The evaluator was asked to determine whether lens fit was acceptable and, if not, how the lens parameters should be changed.Comparison of lens evaluations made live versus compressed showed agreement on fit acceptability for approximately 80% of the subject/lens combinations. When the evaluator concluded for both presentations that the lens was unacceptable, the same change in lens parameters was recommended 67% of the time.Agreement for the majority of live and compressed video observations suggests that teleoptometric consultation on contact lens fitting is feasible. When technology advances to the point at which large files can be sent quickly via the Internet, it is likely the practice of transmitting video clips and other information to obtain fitting assistance will become commonplace.

A class of signal processing problems has been identified which is characterized by input data bandwidths greater than 100 × 106 bytes/second and/or by throughput requirements beyond 5 × 108 arithmetic operations/second, thereby requiring specialized hardware processor implementations for their solution. Examples of such problems from biomedical environment will be presented and discussed. These large computational problems may be suitable candidates for solution by means of an emerging digital integrated circuit technology based upon Gallium Arsenide substrate material, in which the switching speed of the basic gates is enhanced. The technology of GaAs devices, the digital systems which will employ them in an optimal manner, and the tools necessary to design these systems to operate in very high frequency regimes, are described and reviewed.

Signal processing of ultra wideband data streams:use of parallelism, new device technologies, and high system clock speedsB. K. Gilbert, T. M. Kinter, W. K. Van Nurden, and S. M. HartleySpecial- Purpose Processor Development Group, Mayo Foundation,200 First Street S.W., Rochester, Minnesota 55905R. ZuccaRockwell International Microelectronics Research and Development Center,1049 Camino Dos Rios, Thousand Oaks, California 91360AbstractArchitectural solutions to large signal and data processing problems can now in manycases be implemented in VLSI -complexity silicon integrated circuits in a majority ofcases, provided that the economic constraints of design costs, unit costs, and schedulecan be resolved. However, for a small subclass of signal processing tasks involving veryhigh input data bandwidths and /or large volume computation, VLSI implementations ofparallel architectures are a useful but incomplete solution, or in some cases even an ina-dequate one; alternate device technologies, e.g., high speed Gallium Arsenide digital com-ponents, must be considered for very high clock rate processors. This paper explores thetradeoffs between architectures and device technologies and the roles which they can playin very high bandwidth classical signal processing tasks.IntroductionA multitude of engineering research groups are presently exploring the methods bywhich the emerging very large scale integration (VLSI) technology, i.e., the ability toplace more than 10,000 logic gates on a single integrated circuit, can be exploited forthe solution of difficult data processing problems using parallel or distributed computerarchitectures. Many recent discussions of VLSI technology applications have ignored theproblems inherent in signal processing applications, which are typified by a set ofcharacteristics and constraints somewhat at variance with those of the data processingenvironment. We will concentrate in this presentation on a discussion of problems uniqueto signal processing, and try to assess the impact of the newest device technologies,including but not limited to silicon VLSI, on their solution.The characteristics of classical signal processing algorithms are quite differentfrom those of data processing algorithms, for the following reasons. Signal processingalgorithms generally operate on extremely long vectors of one, two, or more dimensions.The individual elements of these vectors are usually of relatively low precision,generally represented by fixed precision operands of eight to twelve bits in length, occa-sionally as complex fixed precision values in forms such as Real[12] + Imag[12], or evenless frequently, as block floating point operands or conventional low precision floatingpoint operands (1). Until recently, full precision floating point computation, with itsattendant hardware complexity, was rarely required, a situation which still prevails forthe majority of signal processing applications.Classical signal processing algorithms developed over the past three decades, andoften employed in a variety of combinations, include autocorrelation, cross correlation,convolution, fast Fourier transformation, multiplication of a vector by a scaler, for-mation of dot and cross products, matrix operations and binning (for synthetic apertureradar, doppler beam sharpening radar, and all forms of computed tomography) and Chirp -Ztransformation (for ultrasound computed tomography and in search radar applications). Allof these algorithms are characterized 1) by the regularity of the primitive arithmeticoperations, i.e., multiplications, additions, and subtractions, with which they areimplemented; 2) by a negligible amount of decision branching; and 3) by the large ratio ofcomputational steps to loop steps during their execution. Hence, a large number of globaloperations are implemented in a very similar manner. In addition, the use of two'scomplement fixed precision arithmetic reduces the addition and subtraction operations to asingle arithmetic type. Generalized fixed precision multiplication can often be imple-mented by combinations of binary shift operations, which are even easier to implement