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As much as I dislike the woman, her Pocohontas bullshit and most of her policy stances.
As much as I wish the market would fix itself on this. It ain't gonna happen.

As such, I'm all for a right-to-repair. I mean, we're not talking about a cheap.
We;re not talking about a $300 lawmower here.

We're talking about actual farm equipment. Where each individual vehicle is worth HUNDREDS of thosuands of dollars.
And they've been engineered in such a way that if something small breaks, the entire damn vehicle is USELESS.
And the only to fix some of these things is to pay a vendor certified mechanic and WAIT for him to come out. Or try to ship the thing to him and hope it comes back in a timely manner!

And it's not like an 80 year old tractor. Where all you need is a couple parts and you can tear it down and rebuild yourself.
You need parts which either which most vendors won't sell to you directly.
Or you need to buy grey-market versions.

And all of this adds up to LOTS AND LOTS of additional cash outlay for a piece of equipment whose payments are a MAJOR chunk of said farmer's monetary outlay every year.

Here's a little something-something off the John Deere Site.
https://configure.deere.com/cb...

8400R Wheeled (Tracked option available too) Row-Crop tractor.
Base Price: $424,055.
And you can slap in upwards of $125,000 in additional equipment (not options).
You can tweak options up to about $80,000
Hell, their longest warranty is 5 years and costs an extra $17,000!
Yes, that's right. A warranty for one of these things is OPTIONAL!

I truly think that, while manufacturers have made lots of great advances that make a farmer's life easier, that they're too far into lock-in mentality to view this equitably.

And "Just go out and buy a different vehicle!" doesn't work because ALL OF THE VENDORS DO THIS.

Maybe the /. crowd could actually y'know go look:

http://www.deere.com/en_US/docs/html/brochures/publication.html?id=f083d8bc#17

in this scenario you are the ox

Humans have always been the wielder or controller of the tools. Qualitatively that has never changed, even as the tools grew orders of magnitude more powerful. (Grain used to be harvested by a scythe with a bronze blade; now it's harvested with one of these.)

So no, you and I are not a tool (the ox).

The humans who direct the actions of robots are simply the next step in the pattern that has existed for hundreds of years now: each generation wields more powerful tools than the previous generation.

"The employees are not getting any of these excessive profits."
What is an excessive profit? John Deere has a profit margin of 6.29%.
Apple has a profit margin of 20.80%.
Microsoft has a profit margin of around %18.
Whole Foods profit margin is 4.1% which is 66% of John Deere.
Also employees of John Deere get bonuses and profit sharing. https://www.deere.com/en_US/co...
The benefit package is actually really good.
So what facts are you basing anything you are saying? Just what you have heard?

So I'll buy a John Deere and use it as my daily driver.

Fuck no.

There's nothing magical about combines or tractors. Sorry.

Say sorry all you like, modern combines and tractors are loaded with computers...

There is a reason that farmers are buying them, they cost less to run and do more work than the older gear did...

The only thing that's apparently complex here is the logic used to dial down power output to reduce emissions.

There is far more to a modern combine than the computer running the engine.

https://www.deere.com/en_US/pr...?
https://www.deere.com/en_US/pr...?

Modern combines and tractors don't even have to be driven by a human. And you think the only complex logic is on the engine?

There are probably ways to do that with open source.

The OP said that one of the reasons they encrypt is per the EPA, they have to make it hard to defeat the emissions control equipment.

If you want to remove the encryption, then you have to provide another acceptable way to prevent farmers from removing that equipment and controls.

All the farmers have to do is just refuse to buy tractors that aren't open. Let the dealerships know that you are deliberately putting off buying a new tractor for a few years at least until more open options are on the table, and let everyone know there are huge opportunities for new start ups.

Which farmers would those be?

Archer Daniels Midland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Smithfield Foods
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Cargill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Those are huge multi-billion dollar corporations that really, really, REALLY don't care about what you care about.

There's nothing magical about combines or tractors. Sorry.

Say sorry all you like, modern combines and tractors are loaded with computers...

There is a reason that farmers are buying them, they cost less to run and do more work than the older gear did...

The only thing that's apparently complex here is the logic used to dial down power output to reduce emissions.

There is far more to a modern combine than the computer running the engine.

https://www.deere.com/en_US/pr...?
https://www.deere.com/en_US/pr...?

Modern combines and tractors don't even have to be driven by a human. And you think the only complex logic is on the engine?

There are probably ways to do that with open source.

The OP said that one of the reasons they encrypt is per the EPA, they have to make it hard to defeat the emissions control equipment.

If you want to remove the encryption, then you have to provide another acceptable way to prevent farmers from removing that equipment and controls.

All the farmers have to do is just refuse to buy tractors that aren't open. Let the dealerships know that you are deliberately putting off buying a new tractor for a few years at least until more open options are on the table, and let everyone know there are huge opportunities for new start ups.

Which farmers would those be?

Archer Daniels Midland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Smithfield Foods
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Cargill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Those are huge multi-billion dollar corporations that really, really, REALLY don't care about what you care about.

https://www.deere.com/en_INT/p...

autonomous lawn mower has been around for a while...

Well, he said a "shit load". And that would depend on the size of the manure spreader he's using.

It doesn't sound like you've ever seen a modern wind turbine in person, or seen parts of one being hauled down the highway; they're definately not a "just knock it over" thing. So no Farmer John isn't goining wrap a couple logging chains arround the base and pull it down with his John Deere 9R. Additionally there are hazardous materials in the mechanical parts like gear lubricants and hydraulic fluids that have to be recovered and disposed of properly.

The only thing that runs on gasoline now are the Gators; everything else is diesel, even the pickup trucks.

This sort of technology has been available for some time, I remember seeing this six-legged forest machine complete with crane and cutting machinery back in the early 2000s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYh54Qdh_5g Apprently it was developed in Finland by John Deree, and was only displayed rwecently (2012 press release): http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/corporate/our_company/news_and_media/press_releases/2012/forestry/2012apr10_walking_harvester.page

In what way? I actually contend the opposite, international trade helps most people. The less paid for an item the more money people have. That money can be used to buy other items, pay down debt, or be invested. Of course, until recently, people here in the US lived beyond their means. They continuously borrowed money the buy more stuff.

As for Walmart/Sam's, Walmart now has stores in China. And Chinese make enough money to buy from Walmart, as well as upscale stores. I don't recall what newspaper it was but one reported the first week Apple's new iPhone was available in China more than 1 million were sold there. Seeing as Apple products are only affordable to the wealthy, there are a lot of wealthy people in China. And those people buy American products sending money to the US. Another American company making money in China is Caterpillar, which builds construction equipment in Indiana employing thousands of people. John Deere based in IL does business in Brazil, China, and around the world. There are many other US based multinational businesses who also are in Brazil, China, India, and Russia (BRIC) helping employ more American workers.

And without international trade you would not be using a PC, or a cell phone. The US does not have a ready supply of a number of metals used to make these products. A major source of Coltan, columbite–tantalite, is Congo. Unfortunately it's mining fuels the conflict there.

GE leads a call to develop rare earth minerals in the US to reduce our dependence on Chinese suppliers. If China wanted to it could shutdown a number of US businesses by stopping exporting these minerals ton the US.

So who's the jerk?

Falcon

That's a small part of it food requires tractors, tillage, planters, sprayers and Combine Harvesters. Add to that pickup trucks to ferry fuel and operators to the equipment, semi trucks to haul the equipment to the fields and the produce to the elevator you can see that's a lot of fuel. Most small operations can't even dream of having all that equipment and contract the work out, teams start out in Texas and work north to Saskatchewan.

That's a small part of it food requires tractors, tillage, planters, sprayers and Combine Harvesters. Add to that pickup trucks to ferry fuel and operators to the equipment, semi trucks to haul the equipment to the fields and the produce to the elevator you can see that's a lot of fuel. Most small operations can't even dream of having all that equipment and contract the work out, teams start out in Texas and work north to Saskatchewan.

That's a small part of it food requires tractors, tillage, planters, sprayers and Combine Harvesters. Add to that pickup trucks to ferry fuel and operators to the equipment, semi trucks to haul the equipment to the fields and the produce to the elevator you can see that's a lot of fuel. Most small operations can't even dream of having all that equipment and contract the work out, teams start out in Texas and work north to Saskatchewan.

That's a small part of it food requires tractors, tillage, planters, sprayers and Combine Harvesters. Add to that pickup trucks to ferry fuel and operators to the equipment, semi trucks to haul the equipment to the fields and the produce to the elevator you can see that's a lot of fuel. Most small operations can't even dream of having all that equipment and contract the work out, teams start out in Texas and work north to Saskatchewan.

That's a small part of it food requires tractors, tillage, planters, sprayers and Combine Harvesters. Add to that pickup trucks to ferry fuel and operators to the equipment, semi trucks to haul the equipment to the fields and the produce to the elevator you can see that's a lot of fuel. Most small operations can't even dream of having all that equipment and contract the work out, teams start out in Texas and work north to Saskatchewan.

Its called differential GPS and is already being used all over the world. Hell its even being used on farms to guide tractors by now. It can get down to the cm level of accuracy. Not News.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_GPS

http://www.deere.com/servlet/ProdCatProduct?pNbr=GT3TAPC&tM=FR

Having stood next to a baler last weekend, they're all pretty big.

Most balers nowadays are the round kind. You drive through fields in the Midwest, you'll see more round bales than square ones. I'm told they weigh in at about 800lb when not wet. A new innovation is plastic-wrapping them automagically so you don't waste 6" on the outside of the bale from moisture and decomposition.

Example baler

Hate to reply to my own post, but here is a fairly detailed explanation of John Deere's IVT: http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/tractors/2006/feature/transmissions/8030_option_code_1127_1137_ivt_trans.html . The relevant part is "The John Deere IVT uses a hydromechanical, power-splitting design where a portion of the power is transmitted mechanically and a portion hydrostatically. A hydromechanical transmission is more efficient than a purely hydrostatic transmission because gears carry power more efficiently than a hydraulic pump and motor. By careful selection of the gearing, the John Deere IVT carries a maximum of the power mechanically both at normal field working speeds and at transport speeds, taking maximum advantage of the higher mechanical efficiency while providing the control and versatility of a hydrostatic." And of course this power-splitting is done via a planetary gear system.

I say this not to take away from the D-Drive's awesomeness (John Deere doesn't do reverse without shifting a gear), but to help offer explanations of how it actually works.

Have a look at the agco/ fendt tractor transmission design.

Hate to reply to my own post, but here is a fairly detailed explanation of John Deere's IVT: http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/tractors/2006/feature/transmissions/8030_option_code_1127_1137_ivt_trans.html . The relevant part is "The John Deere IVT uses a hydromechanical, power-splitting design where a portion of the power is transmitted mechanically and a portion hydrostatically. A hydromechanical transmission is more efficient than a purely hydrostatic transmission because gears carry power more efficiently than a hydraulic pump and motor. By careful selection of the gearing, the John Deere IVT carries a maximum of the power mechanically both at normal field working speeds and at transport speeds, taking maximum advantage of the higher mechanical efficiency while providing the control and versatility of a hydrostatic." And of course this power-splitting is done via a planetary gear system.

I say this not to take away from the D-Drive's awesomeness (John Deere doesn't do reverse without shifting a gear), but to help offer explanations of how it actually works.

It is high, but not out of the range of reality. Converting to units that I understand, I get 9 gallons of fuel per acre, assuming that he's talking about CO2, rather than carbon. That's got to be the total emissions per acre, rather than just for one or two operations, like discing his fields. And maybe his fuel calculation includes the fertilization that he's not doing anymore??? He is using a sizable machine, though. Maybe the number accounts for his total fuel consumption for a year's production.

It's been years since I worked on farms as a boy, and my memory has never been as good as the farmers that I worked for, so I spent some time with google after I wrote the preceding paragraph. The University of Iowa suggests that corn, a particularly fuel-intensive crop shouldn't need more than 5-6 gallons of fuel per acre. Also look to the University of Illinois for a shorter discussion.

I just can't get to 9 gal/ac, but maybe the farmer had an extra can of Fosters that day, or maybe he just wants to feel good about what he's doing.

(I used, 2.23 lb/kilo, 2.47 ac/ha, 22 lb CO2/gal diesel. Let me know if I've screwed up somewhere. 1.1 kg/ha, as suggested below, is low by more than two orders of magnitude, by the way.)/p>

Mod parent up. Also, John Deere has had robo-tractors for a while now. Also, s/aching/shiny metal/.

I agree it was a bad article. I think they should grab a journalism student from a nearby university (MU) to fix it for them.

I can answer some questions from the research I have done, and can give an educated guess on the others.

Are the turbines really powering the town, or is that going into the grid in general?

The turbines are connected directly to the city's high voltage line, which is in turn connected to external generation. IE. the grid. The 4 turbines for the city (Loess Hills) are on a ridge on the west side of town. A couple miles away on the east side of town is the Cow Branch wind farm. It was the proximity to this wind farm that made Loess Hills feasible.

The article mentions the landowner that set the thing up. So is it privately owned, or part of the city?

I thought I read that the city owned the land, but all I find now is that they are installed on 'agricultural lands within the city limits'. The Cow Branch wind farm is built on land leased from local farmers. They install their tower and build a road to access it, and the owner continues to farm around them. Just like with cell towers.

What the heck does John Deere have to do with anything?

John Deere has been financing wind farms. John Deere has a name and reputation that is respected by farmers, and they are leveraging that trust and their credit business unit to get in the energy business. But no green and yellow turbines so far.

Again, here's a link to Wind Capital Group.

There is a difference, those colors are specially formulated for or by UPS. It isn't actually brown, close, but it isn't. John Deere, AFAIKT does not have a trademark on "John Deere Green", but on the color scheme of green and yellow:
http://www.deere.com/en_US/deerecom/privacy_legal/legalnotice.html

Caterpillar has the same thing going for it as UPS, it hasn't trademarked yellow, but Caterpillar Yellow, not yellow, close, but still not yellow.

There is an infinite number of possible colors, any number of un-named color could be trademarked. 1 gallon of brown with one CC of white is a different color than 1 gallon of brown with 2 CCs of white. Sure, they're not going to look any different to the naked eye, but they are different colors once mixed.

Take some orange, add a little white and a little yellow BAM, new color.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, whether they claim it or not, cannot trademark the color magenta, maybe they can trademark a color scheme with magenta in it, but they cannot trademark magenta. The color magenta has been around longer than every single person alive today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magenta and a lot older than some shitty cell phone company.

I work on this product line.
So if I don't make safe, reliable, and most of all easy to maintain code, Tractors drive through houses and you don't get your high-fructose-corn-syrup-filled beverages. So yes, I would say I earn the title of engineer as much as any ME or EE even though I graduated a CS. That's not to say it isn't fun.

In America these are called tractors. http://www.deere.com/servlet/ProdCatProduct?tM=FR&pNbr=9630_RW
If you are going to use a machine to help you don't use a small thing you put on like a coat use a BIG machine the size of a house and get more work done faster.
The point of a machine is to reduce the need for manual labor.
When walking won't get you there fast enough you don't use a 200,000 yen exoskeleton suit to help you run faster, you ride a bike which can be had for under $300 new.
It is like they intentionally tried to find the most complicated solution. I do not down play the accomplishment or the coolness of it but must admit that I don't get it.
What is it with the Japanese and the giant fighting robots?

Incorrect. This version is only available to "military organizations." Gator special application series ...

Carry off any job with the 6x4 Diesel. Low-pressure, high-flotation tires combined with differential lock ensure this model goes where you need to.
Designed exclusively for military use, the M-Gator is only available to military organizations.
The TX Turf's quiet foot-pedal operation meets the requirements of golf course superintendents and turf care professionals by providing an off-cart-path vehicle that won't leave marks on the turf.

Because I checked out their site before posting that, since I was interested in acquiring one, and it says exactly what I posted. It's here by the way

"The John Deere platform is only available to military users."

Uhmm, incorrect. The John Deere Gator has been available for several years now.
As a matter of fact, here in Oklahoma they have been "selling like hotcakes" since they were introduced.

Sheesh...you can even buy them online directly from John Deere if you don't have a local dealer in your town.

(http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/cate gory/printableversion/HO_GATORHO_printableVersion. html)

Now, the iRobot R-Gator may not be available to the unwashed masses, but the "platform" is available to any who want to purchase one.

It cannot be the answer, because in rural america people do not understand technology, but in India they do. Big difference.

That's the biggest line of bullshit I think I've ever seen. Typical of someone who hasn't spent a day outside of the city.

Having grown up in rural America, I can safely say that we understand technology just fine. Not just mechanical technology such as engines, combines, hay bailers, and other complex machines (which any farmer certainly knows better than you). There are plenty of examples of high-tech equipment that rural America understands better than you.

How about irrigation technology? With the price of water rights and well permits going up, farmers have to be especially concerned with water delivery systems. Farmers know what kind of irrigation systems deliver the most irrigation to the ground while minimizing evaporation. Do you?

What about the role of GPS in farming? How about Zaurus PDAs used in cattle herding?

Shall we talk about milk next? Technology in that field is fairly advanced, too.

Yes, rural America understands technology. You clearly don't understand rural America.

From the pic, it appears to be a version of the John Deere Gator
We use them at work, and the gas models aren't very sturdy. They are a maintaince nightmare.

Bigger is better and biggest is best.- Wm Burroughs
The battles of the future will still be against mans wills therefore the battle will still be against men.(like the feeble minded Kerry supporter who modded my original thread down as offtopic)
No man would cower or retreat from a cheesy dune buggy recon vehicle but when you put them up against this: http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/FR/serie s/9020.html
I suspect they'll run screaming as it fills in foxholes,crushes vehicles,buildings and slow camels.I could even see painting a shark face on it like the old fighter planes.Armor and arm it and let it do the dirty work.

That wimpy little buggy looks like a Kerry solution.
Heres the model they should've used. http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/FR/serie s/9020.html
I can see sending one of these in to a battlefield or warzone.Big enough to do what it wants,when it wants,where it wants.Just armor it up,fit it with cameras,guns and a sound system(for "ride of the valkyries" of course) and a blade to fill in any foxholes it encounters. Turn it loose to harvest info and enemy.

Sadly, as you can see here, many of their products are now copy Cat (har har) Yellow. Of course, it beats those abominable blue ford tractors. -theGreater.

Hear, hear.

There's as much cosmic electronics in a new tractor as there is in a new car.

At my previous job, I wrote software to test this tractor transmission at the end of the assembly line. The TCM communicates with the ECM and other sensors to modify the profile of ramping the pressures of up to 6 clutches at a time during a shift. This ain't yer Grandads Deere. With 18 forward speeds, a feller can dial in just the perfect speed to balance efficiency with soil conditions and emplement type. It adjusts its shifting to compensate for clutch material wear. In fact, one of the design engineers described to me one early "flaw". The transmission would keep shifting perfectly smoothly right up to the point that there was no material left on the clutch plates. Now the tractor lets the farmer know when the transmission needs servicing before it's too late.

No no no. You get the big one: A 9620 model.

Personally, I like the track model, but you can get one with wheels if you prefer. This beast is akin to the two strong oxen (or cray supercomputer). I would rather have this than 2 of the 6003 series, but if it was 1024 of These, I would rather have the small ones--for most tasks.

No no no. You get the big one: A 9620 model.

Personally, I like the track model, but you can get one with wheels if you prefer. This beast is akin to the two strong oxen (or cray supercomputer). I would rather have this than 2 of the 6003 series, but if it was 1024 of These, I would rather have the small ones--for most tasks.

Personally, I'd prefer a John Deere 6003 Series.

The rubber-tracked Challenger agricultural tractor looks like nothing ever seen on a farm.

Unless you buy a rubber tracked ag tractor from Case or Deere

If one is pulling a very very huge set of tilling disks, then one might need 450HP, but man those are rare.


Not too rare. ;-)

I'll concede the point though. However, a common 255 hp tractor still would need 190 kilowatts of power to operate. That's still a hell of a lot of power. You're not going to get that from a few solar panels tacked on the sides of the tractor. You can get that from diesel engines, but eventually the diesel will run out. So do we use hydrogen? How many acres of corn will it take just to power the tractor?

If one is pulling a very very huge set of tilling disks, then one might need 450HP, but man those are rare.


Not too rare. ;-)

I'll concede the point though. However, a common 255 hp tractor still would need 190 kilowatts of power to operate. That's still a hell of a lot of power. You're not going to get that from a few solar panels tacked on the sides of the tractor. You can get that from diesel engines, but eventually the diesel will run out. So do we use hydrogen? How many acres of corn will it take just to power the tractor?

I currently work at John Deere, doing technical support for their "GreenStar" line of precision farming products that were briefly mentioned in that article. I had very little experience with agriculture before I started with John Deere, (I grew up in Iowa, but in Des Moines) but since starting there, I've actually gotten excited (if you can imagine that) about the things that they are doing with their Ag Management Solutions division (their precision farming group.)

It's important to note right now that there are a number of solutions offered by companies other than John Deere, but as I work for them, I am most familiar with their products.

Precision farming system serves three primary purposes:

1. Reduce costs - If you're overlapping when you're spraying a chemical to ensure that you have full field coverage, you're essentially wasting the amount of product which you're using to ensure overlap. Think about it . . . one additional foot of a chemical application, times one half of a mile per pass, times however many passes per field, times however many fields . . . you see how the cost-savings can add up. Chemicals aren't the only cost associated with doing operations in a field. When you're leasing a tractor for so many hours, paying by the hour for labor, and paying for fuel, eliminating one pass per field each time you perform an operation can mean huge cost savings.
2. Make intelligent decisions about where to irrigate, or how to change planting varieties - John Deere's GreenStar Yield Mapping system can tell a operator what values of yield and moisture were achieved at any point in a field, so he can alter his irrigation system, plant different varieties across a field or plant different rates
3. Variable Rate Seeding and Spraying - Almost impossible to do without a computer, a farmer can alter the rates at which he applies seed or a chemical throughout the field, based on GPS coordinate maps.

Obviously, these benefits will not outweigh the costs of precision farming systems during the short-run, or for the small farming operation . . . but for larger operations over the long run, the benefit can be huge. Ultimately it boils down to making farming more efficient and more profitable for the farmer (while providing additional revenue to Deere and Company, of course) and ultimately, this is a good thing.

In addition to John Deere's GreenStar product line, they also offer a product called JDLink, which allows owners to monitor usage of their equipment in the field. (This is really nice if you have a huge farming operation or are in the business of renting equipment.) It's not really precision farming, per se, but it's worth checking out. http://www.jdlink.com/

Of course, what people are doing today is only the beginning. I can't give too much detail, but there is a lot going on at Deere and Company in their precision farming group; it looks as though they believe precision farming in "the next big thing" in farming.

If you are interested in learning more about John Deere's flavor of precision farming, visit the AMS web site (http://www.deere.com/en_US/ag/servicesupport/ams/ index.html) or stop by your local John Deere dealer. While you're at your John Deere dealer, if you're interested in tinkering with some software, pick up a copy of the JDOffice desktop software. It's only about $5.00 and you may get to talk to me when you activate it. ;-)

As far as I know, John Deere paints everything they sell green.

John Deere agriculture equipment is green (with yellow trim and rims), though Deere industrial equipment (dozers, road graders, payloaders, etc) is painted solid yellow.

Funny thing is, the original piece of Deere equipment was painted red (Mr. John Deere's original horse-drawn self-cleaning plow).

http://www.deere.com

It's easy, I've just given it to you. Will it cost? yes. Will it be less to maintain and actually more cost saving down the road? yes

• If you build a larger road, will there be more capacity? (yes)
  
• If there's more capacity, will more people opt to use public transportation? (no)
  
• If there's more capacity, will there be an easier commute? (for a while)
  
• If there's more capacity, will it spur greater development? (yes)
  
• If there's more development, will there be more people on the roads? (yes)
  
• If there's more people on the roads, will we need more capacity? (yes)
  
• If we spend more money on this one project now, can we meet the rest of our goals? (maybe)
  
• If we overbuild on every project, can we stay within our budget? (not unless you want to give us more money)
  
• If there's more development, will we need to increase other infrastructure (schools, police, fire, etc)? (yes)
  

I haven't seen the movie but I saw the fictional town of Normal referred to as a small town. The real Normal is a good sized college town right next to another good sized college town. Total population of the two towns is over 100000.

Normal is the title of the movie, not the town (though it would be a valid mistake to make, given that Normal is a city in central Illinois). No, the town was something like Earlsville, set in DeKalb county (northern Illinois, has Northern Illinois University up there).

As for the tractors, is nothing sacred anymore about tractor colors? There are orange ones, red ones and green ones and never shall they meet.

Bah. Case did orange and white back in the day (up until the late 80s or early 90s, at least). Then they merged with International to form Case/IH, and they got rid of the orange and white and stuck with IH's red. John Deere has always been green, but Versatile switched to blue from yellow/red/black when they were bought by Ford. The only people making orange tractors any more (that I know of, and not counting Cat's yellow) is Kubota, who make lawn tractors and other small tractors. (my information may not be 100% correct, but it's pretty close I think.)

I hope HBO releases the movie on DVD so I can see it. Being a tg person who lives in Central Illinois gives a special interest in it.

HBO has a good history of releasing stuff on DVD (Sopranos, Oz, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, Band of Brothers, etc), so if this movie gets a good reaction I'm sure it'll get a DVD release. I enjoyed it for the setting (even more so because I grew up in such a small town), but I don't know how you'll react to the portrayal of a tg m2f. That's something that's beyond my own experience, so I can't say if it was a good or bad representation.

Here.

And tell the bitch to STFU!!!

It's not meant to haul a pile of logs. Just the one that it cut. If you look at the second photo, that shows exactly what it's going to do. Cut a log, strip it of it's branches (I've seen those cutters before. That's what the roller looking parts are for), and stack it for some other truck to haul away.

you can with this, but it will set you back a few pesos.